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Dusty Rhodes - Public School Funding

NPR reporter Dusty Rhodes discusses Illinois public school funding issues during the 2017-2019 when the Illinois legislature was working to revamp the state's system. She talks about the key roles that several legislators (Manar, Barickman, Davis, Pritchard, and Purvis) played in updating the state's funding model, and various legislative funding bills that eventually led to the Senate Bill 1 and SB 1947. She reviews the Governors School Funding Task Force and the adoption of the new Evidence Based School Funding Model. Other topics she addressed included Illinois's teacher shortage, school consolidation, school attendance and teacher pensions. Rhodes also reviews private school tax credits/scholarships, property tax relief, and the 2017 School Funding Lawsuit. Local issues, including a school referendum and county wide sales tax for school facilities, were also discussed.