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Evidence-Based Funding: a decade with Illinois Valley schools · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Evidence Based Funding a decade with Illinois Valley Schools written
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  Speaker 1: by Matthias Werner. This article is being read by an
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  Speaker 1: automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Improvements in public
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  Speaker 1: school funding over the past decade have left Illinois Valley
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  Speaker 1: administrators encouraged about their districts and cautiously hopeful for future gains.
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  Speaker 1: After ten years of schools being funded under the evidence
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  Speaker 1: based funding model, schools in the Illinois Valley encounter a
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  Speaker 1: more stable and consistent revenue flow from the state that
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  Speaker 1: provides a solid bedrock of resources while leaving some room
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  Speaker 1: for growth in the years ahead. Historically, the evidence based
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  Speaker 1: funding formula has been the lifeblood of our district in
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  Speaker 1: terms of maintaining solvency and staying competitive. LaSalle Elementary School
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  Speaker 1: District one twenty two Superintendent Brian de Bernardi said the
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  Speaker 1: evidence based funding model places more emphasis on increasing funding
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  Speaker 1: to school districts based on a per pupil cost evaluation.
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  Speaker 1: The model, which takes into account a district's needs based
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  Speaker 1: on its student population, family income, and supplementary educational needs,
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  Speaker 1: has increased the Illinois Valley's school funding from the state
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  Speaker 1: overall and approach. The program's adequacy targets for the districts.
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  Speaker 1: Adequacy targets are benchmarks set by the State Board of
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  Speaker 1: Education for each district to ensure that schools are funded
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  Speaker 1: to provide adequate support for each student. According to the
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  Speaker 1: Illinois State Board of Education, the targets are designed to
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  Speaker 1: level the playing field when it comes to the state's
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  Speaker 1: funding to public school districts and not only increase the
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  Speaker 1: overall funding to schools year over year, but increase district
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  Speaker 1: funding in the Illinois Valley relative to others in the state,
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  Speaker 1: as Illinois looks to reach ninety percent adequate funding in
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  Speaker 1: all districts. Unlike the majority of Illinois school districts, where
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  Speaker 1: local property taxes serve as the primary source of revenue,
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  Speaker 1: our district relies heavily on state resources to fund the
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  Speaker 1: gap in adequacy, de Bernardi said. De Bernardi said that
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  Speaker 1: in the twenty twenty six fiscal school year, District one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty two's local financial contribution generated three million,
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  Speaker 1: four hundred twenty four thousand, nine hundred and thirty nine dollars,
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  Speaker 1: while the district received seven million, six hundred thirty thousand,
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and seven dollars and ten cents through the
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  Speaker 1: state's funding model. A decade ago. When the new funding
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  Speaker 1: model was introduced, the State Board of Educations sought to
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  Speaker 1: address inequities in district funding and eventually get to at
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  Speaker 1: least ninety percent adequate funding for public schools across the state.
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  Speaker 1: The reliable baseline this funding provides has allowed us to
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  Speaker 1: keep the district solvent, maintain our base level essential academic programs,
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  Speaker 1: and remain competitive in retaining staff and supporting student outcomes.
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  Speaker 1: Di Bernardi said the model not only addresses the amount
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  Speaker 1: of funds designated for districts, but also clarifies when and
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  Speaker 1: how these funds are to be delivered, which DeBernardi and
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  Speaker 1: other local administrators said is an improvement from past models.
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  Speaker 1: Prior to the inception of the model, funding amounts were
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  Speaker 1: unknown and inconsistent, and the timing of these payments was
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  Speaker 1: also inconsistent. Ottawa Township High School District one hundred and
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  Speaker 1: forty Superintendent Michael Cushing said the last decade has shown
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  Speaker 1: more stability with the funding. Mendota Township High School District
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and eighty Superintendent Denise Augenbass said our district
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  Speaker 1: has been able to safely estimate the revenue from the
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  Speaker 1: model due to the base funding minimum. Princeton Elementary School
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  Speaker 1: District one hundred and fifteen Superintendent J. D. Orwig said
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  Speaker 1: that the funding model allowed his district to not only
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  Speaker 1: stay afloat with employees and programs, but expand them. Our
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  Speaker 1: district has been able to enhance the learning environment, helping
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  Speaker 1: us bring twenty one century learning environments to students and
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  Speaker 1: increase counseling in student support services to help social and
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  Speaker 1: emotional learning within the district. Orwig said