Rep. Morrison Posts On-Line Petition Against SB16

State Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) has posted an on-line petition in opposition of Senate Bill 16, a bill that would strip millions away from hundreds of Illinois school districts and channel the money toward Chicago and other schools.

The petition is available on Morrison’s legislative web site at www.repmorrison54.com, or through a direct link at http://www.ilhousegop.org/sb16_petition.

SB16 is a massive rewrite of the school funding formula that determines how General State Aid (GSA) is distributed to Illinois’ school districts. It does not add any additional funding toward education.  As written and approved in the Senate, the bill uses a weighted formula that is punitive to most suburban school districts.

“My school districts will lose most of their GSA if SB16 is approved in the House of Representatives and signed into law by the Governor,” said Morrison. “The bill does not solve funding inequities in Illinois. It only redistributes existing state resources in a way that creates a new list of education funding winners and losers.”

Morrison is a co-sponsor of House Resolution 1276, a measure that denounces SB16 and encourages a comprehensive and fair funding reform process that is inclusive of all stakeholder points of view. “I support equitable and reasonable reforms to school funding, but SB16 is not the answer,” said Morrison. “House Resolution 1276 encourages lawmakers to halt all efforts to pass that bill and to engage in a process with all stakeholder groups represented at the table, so that ultimate reforms benefit all students and not just some of them.”