Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) wants to see schools in his district treated the same as every other school in the state, he said in a recent press release.
To that end, Righter cheered Gov. Bruce Rauner's amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, which provides funding for the state's K-12 schools but in its original form provided additional money to Chicago Public Schools (CPS), including pension payments.
“The changes Gov. Rauner made to Senate Bill 1 reflect what equitable funding truly means,” Righter said in his statement. “Senate Bill 1, as originally passed, bails out the Chicago Public School system on the backs of downstate schools. That is the wrong approach. Students, no matter what school they attend, should be treated the same across the state."
Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon)
After Rauner's veto on Aug. 1, SB1 was sent back to the Legislature for reconsideration, but no vote has taken place as of Monday afternoon. Legislators must either pass or attempt an override of the bill by Aug. 16 or else it is effectively scrapped.
“If we treat Chicago the same way as every other district, schools in our region would receive about twice the new funding compared to what Democrats passed in the spring,” Righter said in his statement. “Those are critical dollars that deserve to be in our classrooms, not in Chicago. I am hopeful both parties can continue negotiations to solve this issue quickly. With schools opening soon, let’s give certainty to every school that they can open on time and stay open and ensure all students are treated fairly.”
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