LM Mar 2025

further complicated by uncertainty surrounding other revenue sources, including Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax, federal grants, and the potential dissolution of the Federal E-Rate Program. Crowning these concerns is the looming threat of a cost shift that would transfer teacher pension fund ing responsibility from the state to local school districts. As a result, CHSD #99 is on the verge of being left with the difficult choice of budget cuts or increasing property taxes. “While legislators may perceive that EBF has made public ed ucation flush with cash, the reality is that Tier 3 and 4 districts are going backwards as state funding fails to keep pace with inflation,” Dr. Thiele said. “This economic reality undermines the promise made when EBF was enacted that no district would end up in the red.”

schools on Chicago’s south side, climbed to Tier 3 in FY 25. According to Superintendent Dr. Nate Cunningham, moving up a Tier creates uncertainty because it’s difficult to gauge how much state revenue the district will receive. He estimates a gap of approximately $2 million that he will have to address through a fund transfer but that could vary depending on the state proration levels. “When EBF was enacted, we started at 66 percent adequa cy and now we’re up to 98 percent,” Dr. Cunningham said. “We have received a lot of new money from EBF, and we’re incredibly grateful for that. Right now, it looks like a situation of money in one pocket but out the other. We’ve come a long way, and I hope we don’t go back to a situation where we’re struggling.”

“” -Dr. Hank Thiele, CHSD #99 This economic reality undermines the promise made when EBF was enacted that no district would end up in the red.

Spanning the largest geographical area of any school district in Illinois, Jasper County CUD #1 faces significant transpor tation challenges. The southeastern Illinois district, recently reclassified from Tier 3 to Tier 2, operates 28 bus routes covering 600,000 miles annually. Due to proration, Superintendent Joe Sornberger said that the district must transfer $132,000 from its education fund to transportation to address the current deficit. While the district’s fund balance can temporarily support this solution, Sornberger recognizes it is not sustainable in the long term. “If I didn’t have to pull $132,000, I could probably hire three teachers,” Sornberger said.

Pain Felt Throughout the State IASA spoke with 10 superintendents across the state, and in various EBF Tiers, to gauge the impact pro-ration in transporta tion funding is having on their districts. Not surprisingly, superin tendents have various levels of concerns, with some needing to take immediate action and others feeling like they’re capable of weathering the storm. Palatine CCSD #15, the second largest elementary district in Illinois, has a transportation expenditure budget of about $10 million but estimates state transportation reimbursements to be $4.5 million. Palatine CCSD #15 is in Tier 2. Due to the district being in a PTELL county, which restricts the annual increase in property tax extensions, any shortfall in state funding could have to be made up for in budget cuts, school officials say. Meanwhile, Thornton Twp HSD #205, home of three high

Keeping Money From the Classroom Beyond potentially forcing districts to make difficult budget cuts or seek tax increases, proration creates significant

6 LM March 2025