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Dr. William Phillips - Public School Funding

Dr. Bill Phillips, the Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Illinois Springfield, examines how school districts are funded (local, state, and federal), the role of the property tax and county sales tax, levies, school budgets, bond sales, fund transfers, corporate personal property replacement tax, tax caps, all in the context of Illinois's new school aid funding formulas. He also discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school budgeting and financing, and reviews the content of a University of Illinois-Springfield school finance course. He addressed the building expenditure reporting required by the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and also reviewed the goals of the current school funding formula (Evidence Based) and how tougher school funding challenges for 2020-21 will impact school operations. Dr. Phillip concluded the interview with a review of recent school reorganizations in Illinois.