"Get Springfield out of the classroom, and let teachers teach."
That's what Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner told students Tuesday at Glenview Middle School in East Moline. He's trying to drum up support for spending more on education.
The Glenview Middle School Mariachi Band, dressed in bright blue outfits, playing guitars, trumpets, and violins, played a couple of songs for Gov. Rauner after he spoke to a crowd of students at an assembly. Several students asked excellent questions, such as, "What do you think of school funding?" Rauner was happy to respond, saying the funding formula is "broken," and relies too much on property taxes.
The governor also wants to get rid of many regulations, unfunded mandates and excess testing.
Rauner says decisions about outside contracts should be made by local school districts. East Moline middle school students also asked the governor what he thinks of unions. Rauner told them they've done good things such as making workplaces safe, and working for fair pay. But he also told the kids state government should balance union benefits with helping companies, especially small businesses.
And here's Michelle O'Neill's mini-feature.
