***ILLINOIS BUDGET CRISIS***
Illinois is facing an unprecedented budget crisis, and the cuts proposed to resolve the situation will have immediate and catastrophic impacts on community schools and the students and families they serve across the state.
We urge our members to contact their legislators and share with them what the loss of these programs and this funding will mean for community schools in their districts, and the children, families, and communities they serve. Legislators need to know that these proposed measures will have dramatic and detrimental effects on the people in their districts. Please contact your legislators and urge them to come up with a more equitable solution than the current proposed cuts.
For information about some of the specific community school impacts, please click here.
For information about the overall budget crisis, please click here.
FANTASTIC NEWS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOL BILL, HB684!
On Thursday May 28, 2009 our community schools bill, HB684, passed out of the Illinois State House with an overwhelming response of 117-0. This was a final vote to approve an amendment that was recently attached to the bill. The amendment proposes to use the Governor’s existing P20 Council to provide oversight of community schools (rather than creating an advisory council within the Illinois State Board of Education).
Illinois is now the FIRST STATE IN THE COUNTRY to pass community school state legislation; we will be the first state in the nation to codify community schools into the state school code. In addition, the bill creates the infrastructure necessary to make immediate and efficient use of federal stimulus funds (as soon as they become available) to support community schools.
Again, the Federation for Community Schools can't THANK YOU, all of you, enough for all the hard work that you put into supporting this bill and helping us move it through the Illinois State Legislature. We have called upon each of you throughout the last few months, and all of your worthy efforts have helped us achieve this feat, today. Without you and your support, HB 684 would not have gone through the various channels of the state legislative process so quickly, efficiently or passionately. We truly appreciate all that you do!
We will be sending a letter to the Governor Pat Quinn soon, urging him to sign our bill into law in the next 30 days. Please be sure to keep your eyes open for the letter and sign on.
Thank you again for your efforts and for your commitment to community school work! For more info, read our bill one-pager and FAQs regarding community schools.
The Federation's May 2009 eDigest is out!
