In Part 1 of this report, we replied to the March 1996 report of the Governor’s Commission on Education Funding.
In this second and final part of our report, we advance an alternative set of principles for school finance reform in Illinois. In many ways, these principles follow the lead of the Governor’s Commission. For example, we too seek to create a connection between funding and outputs; we seek to clearly define academic standards; we call for substantial property tax relief; we try to give affluent districts a bigger stake in the state funding system; and we offer a constitutional amendment to protect taxpayers from “bait and switch” trickery once reform legislation is enacted.
Like the Commission, we propose eight principles of school finance reform. Principle 7 presents The Heartland Plan, a proposal that incorporates the earlier principles. Principle 8 presents a proposed constitutional amendment that would implement The Heartland Plan.
Joseph Bast is a Senior Fellow at The Heartland Institute. He cofounded Heartland in 1984, serving as executive director then as president & CEO until January 2018. His research and writing focuses on climate change and energy policy.
George Clowes is former Heartland senior fellow addressing education policy. He served as founding managing editor of School Reform News between November 1996 and January 2005.
Robert Genetski, Ph.D., one of the nation’s leading economists and financial advisors, has spent more than 35 years promoting the use of classical economic and investment principles for sound financial decisions. He heads ClassicalPrinciples.
