• It reduces our reliance on property taxes to fund schools by mandating an annual property tax abatement of $2.9 billion (indexed to inflation for each subsequent year) with every property owner seeing a minimum of 20% property tax relief on the portion of the bill designated to education.
• The Invest in Illinois Fund is created and funded with $1 billion each year to provide funding for debt service and fees on bonds for capital projects, such as roads and schools, throughout the State.
• The bill also mandates a $300 million annual appropriation (indexed for inflation) for grants to institutions of Higher Education.
• Increases for Early Childhood education are phased in, from $45 million in 2009-2010 to $180 million in 2012-2013.
• Increases to the Foundation Level are phased in, raising it from $6,044 for the 2009-2010 school year (from $5,734) up to $6,974 for the 2012-2013 school year.  The Foundation Level and Supplemental General State Aid (Poverty Grants) are automatically tied to increases to the Employment Cost Index to control for inflation.
• Creates a School Improvement Partnership Fund to target resources to proven programs such as smaller class sizes, literacy coaching, longer school days and teacher mentoring;
• Maintains and expands grants for high-poverty schools
• The personal income tax is increased to 5% (from 3%), and the corporate income tax is increased to 8% (from 4.8%).
• Family Tax Credits are provided to single taxpayers earning less than $26,695 and married couples earning less than $53,694.

Click here to listen to a 23 minute interview with Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, on SB 2288.

Again Talk of State Delaying Final Two School State Aid Payments

"I've had a number of calls," said Matt Vanover, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Education. "It is a standard rumor that pops up."

General State Aid payments typically are made semi-monthly from August to July. However, a clause in the State Finance Act allows the governor to contact the state treasurer and comptroller to "effect advance distribution to school districts of amounts that otherwise would be payable in the next month." The governor has opted to do this in the past several years. 

While the governor is not required to advance GSA payments, school districts have become accustomed to receiving funds before the start of the next fiscal year. The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

"When schools are anticipating the revenue coming in, they depend on it," Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools Robert A. Daiber said.

"Speculating rumors that you're not going to get money is never good," he said. "You're talking large sums of money for large districts. We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The decision to withhold GSA payments usually is made in June, Vanover said.

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