House lawmakers gathered for a hearing in Chicago Wednesday to discuss the education funding plan vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner last week.
The hearing follows the Illinois State Board of Education’s revelation that its initial analysis of how the current plan will affect schools had an error.
While the analysis is being redone, Republicans warn that any override of the veto might be unconstitutional and the only way schools will get their money in time for fall would be if the Senate upholds the veto.
Representative Barbara Flynn Currie authored the amendment to the plan, but says she is not a fan of what the governor did to it.
“I know the governor called this a bail out for Chicago, but I think he is wrong in the facts,” she said. “More than a quarter of districts across the state are on a per pupil basis.”
That means they would be entitled to more money than Chicago.
For some districts, it’s not a question of whether they can open this fall, but how long they can stay open.
“We have had about between four and seven million out of a $20 million annual budget that we have in reserve so we could last a partial year,” said Mundelein Superintendent Dr. Andy Hendrickson. “We would spend down and keep out school open until we can’t open any longer.”
Lawmakers are due back in Springfield this weekend to take up the matter.
