In This Issue:
Budget Discussions End
Anti-Violence Program Scandal Grows
Latinos are Growing Demographic
Rule Change Should Slow Higher Ed Retirements
Schools Across Illinois Test New Assessment
Students Demonstrate Technology
Call For Freeze in New Medicaid Expansions
Spring Celebrations
May 5, 2014
Budget Discussions End
Negotiations over the FY2015 budget have taken a different path in each of the five House Appropriation Committees but the results are expected this week. The Higher Education Committee never met and the chair simply used last year’s budget numbers. Members of the Public Safety Committee gave their suggestions about budget lines but the chair ignored them. The Elementary and Secondary Education Committee was an example of where there was real bipartisan debate and priority setting.
Regardless of the process, it appears legislators will be presented with two budgets spending $34.5 billion and approximately $38 billion. Bills are expected to be debated as early as Wednesday. The difference is whether the income tax increase is allowed to roll back December 31 or is extended in some fashion. Keep in mind that state revenue has grown from $27.1 billion in 2010 to a projected $36.6 billion this year.
The Governor has encouraged all of his agencies to paint a cataclysmic spending picture if the income tax is rolled back. On the contrary, from my work on the budget, I believe spending for programs could be held at nearly the same levels as last year if we cut out the budget padding and political waste. One example of the excessive spending is the Violence Prevention Program discussed next.
The vote on the budget this year will boil down to whether the majority of legislators wants to take more money from citizens in the form of taxes or is willing to reduce waste and set some priorities in spending.
Anti-Violence Program Scandal Grows
What do you say when a program you manage is found to be ineffective, full of pay-to-play politics, and lacking in fiscal accountability? If you are the Governor, apparently you say the Chicago based Neighborhood Recovery Initiative is “troublesome.”
The Illinois Legislative Audit Commission has joined the list of federal and county authorities investigating Governor Quinn’s distribution of over $55 million in 2010 and 2011 to politically connected individuals and organizations to reduce neighborhood violence. News headlines certainly don’t suggest that the programs were effective.
The many reputable programs and organizations pleading for more state funding to change society should be incensed with this type of wasteful spending. This scandal should see the full light of justice before it is allowed to fade from the headlines.
We should also stop funding the program until better goals, management and accounting for results are in place. The proposed Public Safety budget, however, continues to fund this program. Read more about this development here.
Latinos are Growing Demographic
Last week I attended a meeting with the Latino Policy Forum and heard Sylvia Puente, executive director, talk about the growth in English Language Learners across the state. Although ELL students can be students who speak any language other than English, 81 percent are Spanish speaking. The goal of the meeting was to emphasize the importance of educating Latino children.
62 counties in Illinois saw greater than 100 percent growth in ELL students from 2005-2012 including Boone County. Kane County ELL population grew by 44 percent and DeKalb County grew by 60%.
Forecasts show that by 2025, 67 percent of jobs in Illinois will require a college degree or career certificate. Currently, 41 percent of all Illinois adults meet that requirement, but only 17 percent of Illinois Latino adults have such a qualification.
The message the group was advocating was that there is a larger skill gap among Latinos than among the Illinois adult population as a whole. If we can increase the percentage of Latinos with certificates or a degree, the reduction in the skill gap will be significant. Having the skills needed for today’s jobs should reduce unemployment.
Rule Change Should Slow Higher Ed Retirements
A pension rules change approved by the State University Retirement System (SURS) last week should calm the fears and slow early retirements for some in education. Due to a drafting mistake in last year’s pension bill, many teachers, college and university professors and staff are retiring before the law takes effect to avoid losing significant pension benefits.
The intent of the law was to have one of the methods for calculating retirement benefits based on data as of June 30, 2014. The drafting error, however, says June 30, 2013, giving employees one less year of contributions and interest which in some cases could mean thousands of dollars per year in lost benefits. The SURS board voted to interpret the law as using the 2014 date.
Many, including President Baker at Northern Illinois University, think the confusion about the change in pensions is causing early retirements and a “brain drain” in higher education. As many as 400 university staff at NIU and 10,000 across the state would be affected by the drafting error and could thus decide to retire before the new law goes into effect on July 1. Those who have filed for early retirement can resend that decision.
Members of SURS eligible for the money purchase plan should have received a retirement benefit estimate in the last four months giving a June 2014 benefit. The SURS board says that June estimate should be fairly accurate of earned benefits. Members can check the SURS website for further verification.
Schools Across Illinois Test New Assessment
If you are one of the adults without children in school, you might have missed the debate over the new student learning standards and the assessment that accompanies it. The House held a hearing last week to gather comments about the standards and test to assess student learning.
By enlarge, school officials welcome the tougher learning standards which will help students compete for modern jobs, not the jobs of their grandfathers. In fact, many schools in our area began adopting the standards three years ago and have fully converted their teaching for prek-12 classes.
The test to see if students achieved those new learning standards was pilot tested in nearly 1,500 schools on more than 97,000 students this spring. According to Superintendents who testified at our hearing, the test is more challenging (the goal), was administrated smoothly (when the teachers reviewed the test instructions ahead of time) and could be taken successfully on computers (where the school had tech support, enough computers and students were familiar with using the computer).
One of the findings of the pilot was how inadequately connected to the internet too many of our schools remain, how few computers student have available for learning and testing, and how slowly many teachers have incorporated the use of computers in their teaching and student research. (Compare this situation with the following story.)
Another revelation for many legislators was how much testing is already done in schools. Education over the past decade has adopted frequent testing to adjust teaching, measure student growth and provide alternative settings and mentoring for students who fall behind.
The legislators seem ready to implement feedback from those who testified. First, the new assessments will be phased in over several years before the results will be fully utilized. Second, the state has to accept the higher cost of paper and pencil tests along with testing on the internet until schools become better connected on the internet and better equipped with computers. Third, the test will be given in grades 3-8 and one time in high school (either first or second year). Fourth, the ACT test (necessary for college admission) will continue to be given in the junior year to all students.
I appreciate the school leadership who came to the hearing and testified including Kathy Poole, Cambridge Lakes Charter School of Pingree Grove.
Students Demonstrate Technology
Since 1990 students and teachers from around the state have been setting up exhibits in the state capitol to show legislators how technology works in their school. This year I saw demonstrations from two schools in my district. Thanks to the students from Clinton Rosette Middle School in DeKalb: Alondra Gamez, Grace Flemming, with teachers Tammy Judkins, and Kelli Hamilton. Students and faculty from Kaneland High
School were demonstrating creative writing and illustrations on computers. Shown are: Alexander Ochoa, Connor Pennington, Andrea Petrarca, Arturo Silva, Sabrina Watts, and Cathy Lannert.
To learn more about Tech 2014 visit the Illinois Computing Educators website here.
Call For Freeze in New Medicaid Expansions
Until the Quinn administration implements the reforms in the SMART Act passed three years ago, the legislature should put a moratorium on any further Medicaid expansion. So says a group of legislators who were instrumental in writing the reforms.
Representative Patti Bellock, Hinsdale, and Senator Dale Righter, Mattoon, are upset that the administration has stopped “redetermination”– the process of scrutinizing existing Medicaid beneficiaries to determine if they continue to be eligible year after year. A sampling of enrollees found over 60 percent was not eligible for the program. That’s when the administration stopped redetermination last fall.
“It’s hard to watch the unraveling of so much work that went into negotiating these reforms,” said Bellock. “These reforms are aimed at making sure these resources are there for those who are eligible and truly need it.”
Spring Celebrations
Congratulations to all the Mothers who (hopefully) were honored yesterday. After reading the news headlines about uncaring parents, it’s refreshing to focus on those who nurture, make sacrifices for and love their children.
And congratulations to all the graduates! You have to smile at their exuberance and dreams. As Mark Twain wrote, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.” Explore.
Dream. Discover.
I will be traveling to Springfield again this week. The General Assembly will be making some tough decisions about budgets, taxes and policies. Keep us in your prayers.
Bob
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