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With Republicans trying to celebrate their day at the Illinois State Fair nearby, House Speaker Michael Madigan's Democrats at a hearing Wednesday picked apart Gov. Bruce Rauner's changes to legislation to reshape the state's school funding system.

The House later is expected to debate and reject legislation that reflects Rauner's version, an attempt by Democrats to embarrass Rauner on what is supposed to be a celebratory day for Republicans at the fair. The Senate has already voted to override the Republican governor's veto, but doing so in the House would require GOP lawmakers to defy Rauner to join Democrats.

Without a new formula in place to divvy up education money, the state is unable to cut checks for schools. That's left districts scrambling to cut costs in an effort to keep their doors open if an ongoing political fight means they have go months without state funding.

"Yesterday, I denied stamps for our kindergarten teachers to send welcome letters to parents," said Sandoval School District 501 Superintendent Jennifer Garrison told the House hearing. "This is not on us, this is on the legislature to solve."

Under Rauner's changes, Chicago Public Schools would get $463 million less in state money this year compared to the Democrat-approved version, according to an analysis by the Illinois State Board of Education. That money would be redistributed to other districts, meaning more than 97 percent of school districts would see more money this year under Rauner's plan than the legislation backed by Democrats.

"There's no reason why we should be putting districts against each other," said Rep. Will Davis, a Democrat from Homewood who sponsored the bill vetoed by Rauner. "Why are we unnecessarily taking dollars from one district just because the governor has a problem with that district? Maybe he and the mayor need to sit in a room and hash out their problems, but there's no reason why schoolchildren throughout the state of Illinois should be subject to whatever their issues are. And clearly they have some issues."

Garrison and other education officials criticized Rauner's amendatory veto, saying he risks undermining other provisions that would bring greater equality to how funds are distributed and help ease local property tax burdens. While they acknowledged some of their schools would see an initial bump in funding under his plan, they said other changes in his veto mean districts that lose even a handful of students would be financially penalized in future years. They said some of his changes also seem to pit the school districts against business development.

Under both the Democratic-passed bill and the governor's version, the amount of state money schools receive would depend in part on the assessed value of property in the district. The less available property wealth in a district, the more state money it could receive.

But unlike in the Democratic bill, Rauner's version would count the assessed property value that includes TIF districts and in areas that have mandated property-tax caps. School districts can't tax the growth of property value in those areas but still would receive less state money.

Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, questioned the superintendents' prediction of a loss of state money under Rauner's version, saying the Illinois State Board of Eduction has not produced any numbers to back up those claims.

"Nobody knows what the numbers will be in 2020," Ives said.

At one point, she asked a group of education officials testifying before the committee a question, and Ralph Martire, executive director of the liberal Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, leaned in to talk to the panel.

Ives said Martire's offered counsel was an indication that members of the panel could not answer questions on their own. That prompted a rebuke from Davis, who said the comment was insulting and that panelists are allowed to consult with advocates and lobbyists.

"Is this really what it's deteriorating to in state government? Really?" Canton Superintendent Rolf Siversten asked Ives. "You are embarrassing yourself."

Ives said that she was "standing up for taxpayers across the state who are funding enormous systems that fail to educate children."

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @moniquegarcia

The rest is here:
Madigan's Democrats criticize Rauner's education plan on Republicans' day at the fair - Chicago Tribune