That time of year is just around the bend: the 45-day notice period Illinois school districts have to give teachers before laying them off as a result of budget cuts. And Peoria School District 150, where nearly 200 employees will be laid off, is the first we have noticed.
After finding out two of her well qualified science teachers would be among those suffering from the annual Reduction In Force, veteran science teacher Lori Ettinger pleaded for their jobs, the Peoria Journal-Star reports. “These are two people I don’t want to lose,” she was quoted as saying, adding the teachers could easily get hired in another school district.
In District 150, a total of 66 salaried teachers will be laid off, being dismissed honorably because of an estimated $6 million budget deficit from declining property tax revenue. “We love our jobs and we want you to put a name to the face,” one of the Manual teachers told the board. “We understand what you have to do, but at the same time, we really want to be here.”
Also receiving pink slips were 73 teachers paid hourly, 22 probationary teachers, 26 part-time support staff employees, and 10 full-time support staff, the paper reported.
In the state two years ago, an estimated 13,000 to 17,000 teachers were laid off, based on assorted news reports.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Education Funding Advisory Board convened on April 24, beginning work on its recommendation for adequate education funding. The state-mandated advisory committee must recommend by January the minimum per-pupil funding necessary to adequately educate each student in the state’s K-12 public schools. State and local funding sources make up this statutorily set funding, known as the foundation level.
This group is different from the Illinois Education Funding Advisory Committee in the state Senate. This committee’s most recent report calls on the state to distribute almost all funds through a single source, based on a school district’s needs. It seeks to completely revamp the way public schools are funded in Illinois and reduce the dependence on local property tax revenue, which senators hope will reduce the disparity between districts that have resources and those that don’t.
