Leaders of one local district are trying to build public support for a major change in how schools are funded in Illinois.
East Moline superintendent Kristin Humphries says currently state aid is based solely on the number of students in a district, but that ignores the very different needs of different types of students.
Illinois is currently pro-rating state aid at 92 per cent of the current per-pupil level. And Humphries says that's costing the East Moline schools more than 400 dollars per student, or a total of 1.1 million dollars a year.
His suggestion is to come up with a formula that balances student needs with the financial strength of local districts - more for East Moline compared to wealthy suburban school districts with high property values.
A bill sponsored by state senator Andy Manar from central Illinois (Bunker Hill) would base state school aid on a weighted formula, taking into account each student's needs with the relative "wealth" of the district.
