Illinois School Funding Forum registration

National-Louis University, the Golden Apple Foundation and A+ Illinois gathered a panel of experts who pinpointed current concerns and took an honest look at promising solutions from around the country for school funding in Illinois.

It's up to each of us to keep the conversation going. What will you do?

Here are three simple steps you can take to move Illinois toward more adequate school funding that provides all children with equal access to a quality education.

1. Spread the word. We've posted video footage and transcripts of the forum here along with some thought-provoking commentary. Take a look around, then share the link with someone. Fellow teachers. School administrators. People in your office. Friends and family.

2. Write letters to the editors and contact your legislators. Help increase awareness about the problems and solutions by writing letters to the editor. Then contact your legislators through letters, phone calls, and in-person meetings to communicate your concerns. Identify information about your local situation and ask them for their support of a solution that fixes the broken school funding and tax system. Continue to follow up with legislators to see how they are responding to your concerns. Click here to find local papers and elected officials.

3. Sign up for action alerts from A+ Illinois. Sign up to get action alerts to receive news and legislative updates and easily communicate with legislators and the governor on the issues. Sign up for these free action alerts at the A+ Illinois Web site at www.aplusillinois.org.

EVENT SUMMARY

Let's Talk: Illinois School Funding
Saturday, October 6, 2007
National-Louis University

READ ABOUT THE EVENT

PANELISTS: (click each to expand)

Professor Allan Odden - Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Co-Director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE)

A national expert in school finance, Professor Odden's research includes school finance redesign and adequacy, effective resource allocation in schools, the costs of instructional improvement, and teacher compensation. Odden's research has been the catalyst for a number of school funding reform efforts, including a multiple-year effort on school finance adequacy in Wisconsin; its March 1, 2007 report entitled Moving from Good to Great in Wisconsin: Funding Schools Adequately and Doubling Student Performance is available here.

Honorable Luther Olsen - Wisconsin State Senate

A former school board President in Berlin, Wisconsin, Olsen has been a champion of education issues in Wisconsin and was named â€œLegislator of the Year" in 2005 by the School Administrators Alliance for his work reforming school finance. Senator Olsen was a member of the state Assembly for ten years prior to his election to the Senate in 2004. He currently serves on the Joint Committee on Finance and is also a member of Senate Committee on Education.

Honorable Miguel del Valle - Clerk, City of Chicago

Elected City Clerk in 2007, del Valle has been an outspoken advocate for reforming the way Illinois funds its schools. As the first Latino elected to the Illinois Senate, and the first to serve as Assistant Majority Leader, he was both Chair and Vice-Chair of the Education Committee, and served as Co-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Education Funding Reform.

Mr. Ralph Martire - Executive Director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability

An expert in state finance and leading advocate for school funding reform, Mr. Martire is a regular columnist for the Sun-Times, State Journal-Register and Herald News. He was chairman of the revenue subcommittee for Governor Blagojevich's transition team and in 2004 received the Ben C. Hubbard Leadership Award, presented annually to individuals whose leadership has significantly benefited education in Illinois.

Honorable Kathy Ryg - Illinois House of Representatives

Currently serving her third term in the Illinois House, Ryg represents communities in north suburban Cook and Lake Counties. In Springfield, Ryg has shown her leadership on education issues both by serving as a member of the Appropriations-Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, as well as earning the position of Secretary of the Illinois Legislative Education Caucus, a group on which she also serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to serving in the Illinois House, Ryg served as Village Clerk of Vernon Hills, Chief Deputy Recorder of Deeds for Lake County, and as a Village Trustee in Vernon Hills.

Dr. Donald Schlomann - Superintendent, School District 303, St. Charles, IL

Prior to his current appointment in 2007, Dr. Schlomann served as superintendent of School District 100 in Belvidere, Illinois, where he led several successful referendum efforts and was credited with removing two schools from the state financial watch-list and improving student performance across the district.