McHenry Times

State Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) recently quizzed Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) officials about funding for the next budget for early childhood education. 

During a Feb. 8 House Appropriations Elementary and Secondary Education Committee hearing Reick, sought clarity on fiscal year 2023 budget projections.

“I'm looking here at ISBE’s budget book for physical 2022 said (the number of) birth-through-age-5 children served (is) 107,589," Reick said. "And the projection for fiscal year 2023 for the same population is 114,720. Can you translate that into some kind of an understanding of how much per kid normally spent or would be spending? I'm kind of interested in finding out how much of this $54 million is to catch up where we should be and how much of it is actually going to go toward taking this population up and doing adequate service to it.”

ISBE Director of Government Relations Hector Rodriguez vowed to get Reick the answers he’s seeking when it comes to salaries and per person spending. 

In recently revealing his 2023 fiscal year budget, Gov. J.B. Pritzker highlighted a 10% increase in funding for certain early childhood programs, including an additional $350 million for evidence-based funding for K-12 schools, a $96 million increase for transportation and special education and a $54 million hike for early childhood education.

 At the same time, the budget keeps in place current funding levels for other key early childhood programs, including early intervention (EI), the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and IDHS-funded home visiting programs.

Chalkbeat Chicago reports the increase in education spending that Pritzker outlined during his recent State and Budget Address marks the first such proposal since the pandemic hit.

Pritzker’s plan also calls for more college scholarships for low-income students and the state’s youngest learners as schools continue to strive to counter the academic and emotional impact felt by children through the pandemic.

As part of his overall budget, the Governor is also proposing a $1 billion tax cut, with the state suspending 1% sales tax on grocery, postponing a scheduled hike in the gasoline tax and instituting a one-time property tax rebate worth as much as $300.