Teaching our children is one of the most if not the most important job of state government.  There are over two million students attending almost 9,000 schools within close to 900 school districts in the state. Illinois districts range from the third largest school district in the United States (Chicago Public Schools #299) with a student population of over 400,000, to the smallest one (Nelson Public School District #8) with 38 students. Illinois ranks 49^th out of the 50 states in the amount of funding it provides for education. State funding in Illinois covers, on average, less than 30 percent of the cost of educating a student, far less than the national average of about 50 percent. Illinois has the second worst per-pupil spending gap in the country between its wealthy and poor school districts.

Adequate funding and school quality are closely connected. Smaller class sizes, teacher training, and adequate textbooks and equipment are all key factors in student achievement. Inadequate funding has a direct impact on those factors. An enormous investment gap exists between school districts. Some schools spend more than $23,000 per student per year, while others spend less than $5,000.

Illinois is also not keeping its teachers. High levels of teacher turnover and attrition contribute to a shortage of high quality teachers and chronic low student achievement. Illinois’ attrition rate for new teachers over a five-year period is nearly 40 percent.

Having been a classroom teacher for eight years and a proud recipient of a public school education, I have a particular interest in our state’s education policy.  If elected to the Illinois legislature these are the main policies I would pursue to improve the education the children in Illinois and the 5^th District receive.

1. Reduce Classroom Size

While studies are inconclusive, there are several that directly point to classroom size being one of the greatest predictors of student performance, especially at the youngest ages.  The more students there are a classroom, the harder it is for students to learn and for the teacher to spend vital time with each student.  Having taught classes of various sizes, I have personal knowledge that this is true.  If elected, I will seek to pass legislation to provide funding and policies that would reduce classroom sizes for K-2 students as quickly as possible, with the goal of getting all classes under 20 students per class within five years.  Class sizes for grades 3-12 students should be reduced to 20 or less students within ten years.

2. Provide Adequate Material Support For Our Teachers

The current Illinois education budget provides no money for classroom supplies – pens, pencils, paper, chalk, erasers, photocopying, etc. -  for teachers.  Many cash strapped school districts also provide inadequate classroom supplies for their teachers.  In order to do their jobs, many teachers spend their own money, often $500 or more a year, to provide supplies for their classrooms.  If elected, I will work hard to ensure that there is funding for classroom supplies.  If necessary, I will seek to have grants included in spending bills, such as the recently passed public works funding bill, that will provide funds for classroom supplies for teachers in the 5^th District.

Most schools cannot send their students on field trips due to a lack of funds for buses and admission charges.  I will also seek grants for schools in the 5^th District so that they can afford to send students on educationally appropriate field trips

3. Make Education Funding in Illinois More Equitable

Because Illinois provides much less in state funding for education (contrary to what our the Illinois Constitution dictates) than virtually all other states, Illinois school districts rely heavily on local property taxes for funding.  As indicated above, this funding mechanism results in an enormous disparity in what school districts in Illinois spend per student.  New York and Illinois have the greatest funding disparity between school district in the entire country.  In Illinois, the poorest districts will spend $61,625 per year less for a class of 25 than the wealthiest ones.  The average elementary school in a poorer district would spend almost one million dollars a year less than what an elementary school in a richer district would spend.  If elected to the General Assembly, I would favor reducing property taxes and increasing the State’s share of education funding, providing the funds by amending the Illinois Constitution to provide for a progressive income tax to be the main source of revenue in the State.

4. We Need The Best And The Brightest In Our Classrooms

Having good teachers in the classroom is another key indicator of student performance. The Academy for Urban School Leadership (“AUSL”) as been working with under performing schools in Chicago since 2001.  AUSL’s program consists of a full-year campus-based residency in a CPS classroom that includes training, education, certification, and mentorship. AUSL provides a training salary to each student during a year of residency. Many residents are eligible for loans which can be forgiven through post-graduate service as teachers.  The statistics at the end of the first six years of AUSL’s program are impressive:  1) 243 new teachers, 2) who serve more than 6,000 low-income Chicago Public School children, 3Teach for America is a national program that recruits outstanding recent college graduates from all backgrounds and career interests to commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools. It provides the training and ongoing support necessary to ensure their success as teachers in low-income communities.  If elected to the General Assembly, I would work to create an Illinois version of these programs, with its graduates committed to working in struggling Illinois school districts.

Every year, each member of the General Assembly (118 house members and 59 senators) gives tuition free college scholarships (one four year scholarship or up to four one year scholarships to a school in the State university system) to students in their district.  While some legislators make sure that these scholarships go to deserving students in their districts, there has been a long history of many of these scholarships going to the children of politically connected insiders.  If elected to the General Assembly, I would favor abolishing this scholarship program and replacing it with state funded scholarships being given to students willing to repay those scholarships by agreeing to serve as a teacher or nurse in a high needs area for a set number of years.

Read more about where Dave stands on Ethics and Jobs.