Usually, Jack Koehn, Superintendent of USD 257 Schools, maintains an even keel as he handles setback after setback when it comes to state funding for education.
But Monday night, his boat of equilibrium sprung a leak.
At issue is yet another school funding plan as proposed in House Bill 2741 in which virtually every area of education would suffer drastic cuts.
The legislation would, among other things:
l eliminate state funding for extra-curricular activities including all sports and cheerleading programs, and clubs such as drama, forensics, National Honor Society, Student Council, yearbook, marching and pep band.
l greatly reduce per pupil funding so there will be less money to buy learning materials and keep facilities repaired;
l greatly reduce transportation aid, hitting rural districts particularly hard;
l prohibit any state funds to be used for food service;
l eliminate state funds for any facilities that concern athletics, school administration or support; and,
l require all health insurance policies be high-deductible, pushing more of the costs onto employees.
And as bad as all those cuts are, what’s “truly egregious,” in Koehn’s perspective, are the state funds that will go to private schools and those who home-school their children.
For these students “freedom accounts” would be created that would allot parents or private schools 70 percent of what a public school district would receive for their education.
“That is unbelievable,” Koehn said, predicting homeschooling will become “a cottage industry,” with “no accountability” as to how those public funds would be spent or the quality of education the children are receiving.
THE NEW FORMULA, which would take effect July 1, 2017, would affect districts differently.
In wealthy, suburban districts, Koehn envisions stiff competition between districts to recruit top athletes and scholars.
That’s because districts will be allowed to make up the difference of the cuts with five-year mill levies, if voters so approve.
