Source: Chicago Tribune
Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker tapped a new committee Tuesday to tackle some of Illinois’ urgent issues in K-12 and higher education, leaning on Chicago and state officials to develop solutions to immense challenges worsened by long-standing budget problems. That group of school administrators, union officials, think tank executives and higher education officials may have to address the billions of dollars still needed to fully finance the state’s new K-12 education funding model, a teacher shortage that’s left some school districts struggling to staff classrooms and the ongoing loss of local high school graduates to out-of-state colleges. “To provide a quality education for every child, one of the major components is funding equity around the state,” Pritzker told reporters. “But now, where are the dollars and how do we accelerate so we get to where we’re trying to get to as fast as possible? Where are we going to bring efficiencies in state government, what dollars can we bring into state government immediately, as well as over a near and medium term?”