By DIANE ROSS

Lower education: matching expectations with reality

As federal funding fades, people are looking to their slate governments to fill the financial gap to support such major service ureas as transportation, public aid and education. But state coffers are dangerously low, with no relief imminent. State superintendent of education Donald P. Gill and others look at the obstacles and the options now facing Illinois' elementary and secondary schools.

"WHAT are we sending Johnny to school for anyway? Just what is education? What is quality education in the schools across the state?" These are questions, say educators and legislators alike, that can't be answered by the legislature, governor or courts. The problem of the moment is money, and that problem plus the questions on educational quality — generally answered by the taxpayers, the voters and the parents in the state's 1,000-odd school districts — may shift to the state.

The current fiscal problem has created a critical time for elementary and secondary education. Put simply, local control of schools will be put to the test. The boards, the superintendents, the teachers, the parents, will rethink education. They'll remember the dreams, reexamine the expectations, but they won't forget what education costs. From now on, they'll be asking "What is the highest quality of education that we can afford for Johnny?'' According to Donald G. Gill, state superintendent of education, "We [must] reestablish our expectations in a more rational, reasonable, realistic [manner. We've built up some very significant expectations of what schools should do ... far beyond where we should have been expecting the schools to perform."

These expectations fall into two categories, educators say: the wide arena of social responsibility and the narrow focus of parental responsibility.

In theory, schools have been controlled at the local level, but in practice, as more and more of the financing was provided by state and federal governments, much of the control over local education has moved to Springfield and Washington.

At the same time, the role of the public school has changed dramatically, according to Ron Cardoni, director of government relations for the Illinois Association of School Boards. Schools have assumed social responsibility in an attempt to help resolve what he describes as "no more and no less than human rights issues," from desegregation to special education to equal access for the physically disabled. "That we've been able to meet these responsibilities so far," Cardoni asserts, "is one of the strengths of the public school system."

"Schools now do so much more than just educate," says Linda Knibbs of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. Schools have assumed parental responsibility for transportation, meals and monitoring their children's health. Schools are relieving parents of a wide range of other responsibilities, from "babysitting" for so-called "latch-key kids," whose parents are still working when classes are dismissed, to teaching students to drive. In short, "people are used to getting anything they want from the schools," according to Knibbs.

Although financial support at the state and federal levels was increasing during the years the schools were assuming these social and parental responsibilities, state and federal aid was never sufficient to cover all the ccsts. Meeting these social and parental responsibilities today doesn't leave much money for education, according to Knibbs.

"The policymakers never asked 'Is it reasonable to expect school districts to be able to carry out [these kinds] of programs?"' Knibbs says. "But is policy ever made on that basis?" she adds. "If the money isn't there, what do you do? Nobody's ever asked that question," she says.

There is a widespread belief that boards, superintendents and teachers can — or should — simply cut personnel and programs to offset the loss of state and federal aid, according to Rep. Larry Stuffle (D., Charleston), a member of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. But he says districts can cut and cut and cut again and still the money's not there.

"Everything now hinges on the local level," says Margaret Blackshere, assistant to the president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. She says, "The voters are going to be faced with the question 'What kind of programs do we want to provide?'" According to Knibbs, the fiscal crisis will force a "reevaluation of what kind of programs schools can provide versus expectations."

Education and economics

Yet educators are worried that local taxpayers — and even parents — won't support increased taxes for education.

Parents generally want a good education for their children, but like everyone else, they don't want to pay for it, Stuffle says. And parental support has never been more crucial, according to Arlene Zelke, state legislative chairman for the Illinois Congress of Parents and Teachers. (Zelke is also a member of the State Board of Education, but speaks here for parents and teachers.) By 1990, she says, only one-fifth of all households will include school-age children. That leaves four-fifths of all households "without any contact with the schools other than their pocket-books," according to Rep. Gene Hoffman (R., Elmhurst), vice chairman of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and chairman of the legislature's School Problems Commission. By profession a high school social studies teacher, Hoffman suspects, like many other legislators and educators, that the decline in households with school-age children will have an adverse effect on an already adverse situation. "Education has got to broaden its constituency," Hoffman warns and suggests stronger ties between education and business to deal with the economy in the state. Education at the elementary and secondary level is a long-term investment in the economy, "but if we don't educate students at the elementary and

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secondary level, they're never going to make it to the college level," says Sen. John Davidson (R., Springfield), minority spokesman for the Senate Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

"In times of economic stress, whether it be the recession or some other economic problem that bodes a significant peril for our society, it is the time to reaffirm confidence in education," says Gill. He calls education "a key variable" in the long-range economic health of the country. "I firmly believe that education of high quality will be such a productive long-range investment that we can't afford not to invest in it," Gill says. "I'd like to see education the central focus of an effort to help revitalize the economy of this state," he says. On the other hand, if proper support isn't given education, Gill believes the state's economic problems could be prolonged.

Unlike higher education, the quality of elementary and secondary education is defined locally. "It's difficult to measure; it's whatever the community says it is," Knibbs says. She says that school superintendents, generally, agree on two tests of local support: whether taxpayers pass referenda and whether parents transfer their children to private schools.

Cardoni agrees that quality is in the eyes of the community, and that school boards believe that is as it should be. But Gill maintains that defining quality at the local level can be a weakness. He says, "Perception overrides — frequently — the reality." In any event, most school boards feel they provide what their communities see as a quality education, according to Cardoni.

Sen. Arthur Berman (D., Evanston), chairman of the Senate Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, believes parents are the key test of quality: "Do the parents feel that their children have received a good education — basic and functional skills?" Zelke agrees: "The more sophisticated parents are in making demands, the more sophisticated the school system is in meeting those demands. The quality is the best where the parents are the most demanding." If parents are not "demanding," the problem may simply be one of public relations, suggests Rep. Jesse White (D., Chicago), a member of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and an elementary physical education teacher. "Often it's a matter of making parents feel confortable, eliciting their support," he says.

Hoffman takes a somewhat more cynical view: "There are those who could argue that most communities are getting about what they pay for — and maybe that's good enough for them."

Retrenchment

Although each local school district may have a different definition for quality education, Gill looks at the picture from a statewide perspective. "The quality of ... education in Illinois, compared with the quality of education in the [18] other states that I am familiar with is very high .... I would rank us in the upper quartile, certainly .... We have demonstrated over the years . . . that we have been able to use the technology of teaching at a very high level. We can point to some of the outstanding school systems in the United States, here in Illinois. And when you're in another state, they point to Illinois. Historically . . . the one that's always been pointed to as a beacon is the New Trier High School District. But Highland Park, right next door, is probably just as good .... Around the suburban area of Cook, DuPage and Lake counties, there are probably some of the premier school districts in the country."

Publicity, however, feeds the perceptions of which Gill speaks. "Because of all the cutbacks, the public views the quality of education as lower than it actually is," says Jack Moomey, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association. "There's a negative feeling going around now . . . that the quality of education is going down. I don't perceive that. I see more being done, not less." Blackshere says that "all of the negatives are coming out but none of the positives" because the public sees education as an obvious target for fiscal cuts. "I hope people don't take a doomsday attitude," says Moomey, "and move their children from public schools to private schools because they feel the quality of education in public schools is going down."

The quality of education may vary from district to district but the fiscal problems are severe in almost every district. "At the moment," says Gill, "we're on the threshold of very bad circumstances." And one of the things that makes this fiscal crisis the worst, according to Blackshere, is that the burden falls on the local level, and only the local level. She says it's a burden that can't be borne.

Sen. Berman calls it a classic domino effect: federal cuts squeeze the state; and state cuts squeeze the local; and local cuts squeeze the taxpayer. Cardoni says the triple fiscal threat simply "compounds the problem" for elementary and secondary education.

Yet because Illinois has three different types of elementary and secondary school districts, with state aid figured differently, the consequences will be uneven, according to Hoffman. Illinois districts with kindergarten through high school are one type; districts with only elementary students are another; and districts with only high school students only are the third. Some districts depend more on federal and state aid than others, and there are some, according to Skuffle, that won't be hurt because they are "swimming in money."

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How does Gill believe the state generally can deal with budget cuts? "We're going to have to find opportunities to improve every phase of our operation," he says. "There will be retrenchment . . . there's no question of that; it's happening right now."Educators and legislators agree that retrenchment so far has focused on two specific targets: teachers and "frill" programs — art, music and physical education. As in higher education, the consequences of any teacher cutback is a rise in class size. "And when you reduce the quantity of teachers, you reduce quality of education," argues Reg Weaver, president of the Illinois Education Association. "There's no fat left," says Blackshere.

Cutting teachers is unavoidable, argues Rep. Irv Smith (R., Springfield), a former regional superintendent of schools. He says, "It's the only place left to cut." But Cardoni argues that the loss of federal and state aid is so drastic that districts will never be able to cut enough teachers to offset the loss. Like their counterparts in higher education, teachers in elementary and secondary education says the cuts will further affect already drooping morale. Elementary and secondary education is already short on science and agriculture teachers, and generally is short on young, new teachers for all types of classrooms. Salaries are not competitive with the private sector, and working conditions range from less than desirable to downright dangerous when it comes to the stress of discipline. Moomey says, "It's a two-edged sword. On one hand we've gained more experienced teachers; on the other hand we've lost. . .the infusion of new ideas. We're hitting the breaking point right about now. If it continues in this direction, it might become a detriment."

As is the case in higher education, program cuts will tend to pit science and math against the arts and humanities for education dollars not committed to the basic reading and writing programs. "You can't overemphasize reading, writing and arithmetic," says Sen. Terry Bruce (D., Olney), who serves on both the Senate higher education and elementary and secondary education committees. "But there's a lot to be said for art and music," he says, adding that foreign languages suffered even in better days. "How can you say that art and music are 'frill' programs?" Zelke asks. "We'll be eliminating the kind of frill programs that make a good school system an excellent school system," says Cardoni.

Specifically, what's happening as a result of the federal cuts? Calendar 1982 is expected to be the crucial, final test of congressional support for Reagan's cuts. But most educators and legislators in Illinois agree with Gill's assessment: "We can look forward to federal dollars being phased out, I'd say, almost completely, before the Reagan administration is concluded." Those concerned with elementary and secondary education question this reversal of federal policy, which has held education to be one of the nation's major lines of defense since the Russians put Sputnik into orbit a quarter of a century ago.

Yet the eventual elimination of federal aid to education, without replacement dollars from the state or local districts, has consequences. The worst may be for economically disadvantaged students, a group which Blackshere says is always the first target for cuts. Those programs have already been cut in half. Special education, the largest and most expensive of the federally mandated programs, may not be cut immediately. "It is a little more secure — and nothing is secure," Blackshere says. Yet the consequences for special education are not so severe, Gill says, because federal support never reached the level promised. In other words, a dollar never sent will not be a dollar missed.

State budget competition

At the state level, the official policy is to finance 50 percent of elementary and secondary public education from state revenue, but this goal is not being met. Just prior to Gov. James R. Thompson announcing a special session on funding education to be held in January, Gill said he saw the chance that state aid to elementary and secondary education might be "significantly" reduced for fiscal 1983 (academic 1982-83).

The state aid situation in a nutshell is this: the state income tax and the state sales tax, the two chief sources of revenue for state aid to education, are only generating an increase about half the annual increase generated in the years prior to the recession. Next year, virtually all of this so-called "new money" will be needed to offset inflation's effect on the three biggest state spenders: public aid, education and transportation. In short, there will be no "new money" from the sales tax and income tax for the state to use to ease the burden of federal cuts at the local level.

"That very honestly scares the hell out of me," says Sen. John Maitland (R., Bloomington), a member of the Senate Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. He says, "Everyone has lived on that new money every year. We've done a decent job of pulling our horns in. Now, if we're going to balance the budget, we're going to have to look at the big three spenders."

"This year," says Cardoni, "we're going to fight for our lives to hold on to what was appropriated last year [fiscal 1982]." School boards, he says, are one component of the education community that is deeply disturbed about the increased demands public aid and transportation have made on the state sales and income tax revenue that was once largely reserved for education.

Gill says he's going to fight for education's share of those general revenue funds as he has never fought before. Educators seem to believe him.

No matter how high the governor's priority on education, Gill says that Thompson's priority really means that education gets cut less than other programs. "Jim Thompson's approach to funding all of state government and my approach to financing education, somehow, are going to have to mesh to the benefit of the schools," Gill says. "There needs to be some giving and taking and adjusting. The governor adjusts less than I, but that doesn't mean he won't adjust some, depending on how persuasive I can be and how persuasive the data is.

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"I never engage in any kind of competition by saying 'the other ones don't need it,'" Gill says, referring to public aid and transportation. "I say 'we need it more.'"

Educators say they want Gill to hold out as long as he can in negotiating with the governor on the fiscal 1983 budget — at least longer than he did last year. "Yes, I think higher education won last year," Gill admits. "They did well and more power to 'em. But we're going to be competing vigorously for those dollars this year. I think it's elementary/secondary's turn — and I won't hesitate to tell the governor that."

Whether or not the state can afford more dollars for elementary and secondary education, it appears there's little chance of local districts being able to generate any new funds. Many, if not most districts are already taxing at the maximum rate they can without approval by referendum. Education fund referenda have a "snow ball's chance in a very hot place," according to Bruce, who believes that building fund referenda have at the very, very best, an extremely difficult chance of passing.

Everyone cites Springfield District 186 as a classic example. "There wasn't a better campaign put on," Blackshere says. "Business, teachers, parents — they were all involved. The district had all the volunteers it said it needed, all the [campaign] money it said it needed. They didn't use scare tactics; they were very honest. And still they lost. They didn't even come close."

Gill expects many districts to run into "serious financial trouble" — literally out of money — in fiscal 1983, forcing them to close their doors or cut programs so deeply that generally uncritical parents will scream bloody murder. And those districs that will hang on this year, Cardoni predicts, will be forced to borrow even more heavily on next year's taxes, sliding ever closer to insolvency.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell how many of the state's districts are already hurt and how badly since there is no statewide financial clearinghouse. "We hear from those who are hurt," says Rep. Hoffman, referring to the ongoing statewide hearings held by the State Board of Education and the School Problems Commission. "But we only hear from those who are still healthy enough to yell about it. There are others so sick they can't get out of bed."

State funding options

The bottom line of the fiscal crisis is that state suport for elementary/secondary education continues to drop, forcing local support to rise. Back in 1970-71, the state's share was 39.6 percent, and the local was 54 percent. The state contribution reached its peak in 1975-76 at 48.4 percent; the local contribution fell to its lowest point that year, at 45.2 percent. By 1980-81, state support had dropped to 42.8 percent, forcing local support to rise to 48.5 percent. (Federal support, obviously, has never been a large proportion of total education dollars in Illinois; at its highest level, in 1979-80, it reached 10.2 percent.)

With taxpayers desperate for property tax relief, the quality of education will clearly suffer unless some new formula for state financing is created. And for that, educators and legislators alike look to Springfield. Gill says, "We will be faced at the state level with the necessity of establishing a much more equitable way of financing education. We're going to have to see ... an upturn in the effort of the state ... to help relieve the burden of the local property taxes . . . ." Gill says that any financial plan proposed will aim for "equity for the taxpayer in generating revenue and for the school districts in distributing revenue." Basic to any new plan, says Gill, is "adequacy." He says there must be "an adequate amount of dollars to support a defined education program.

This brings up those ugly words tax increase. "The state's tax structure is simply inadequate to cope with the demands," says Rep. Bob Kustra (R., Glenview), a member of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. And Rep. Smith says, "Only a tax increase will maintain the quality of education." Cardoni says, "Without adding revenue, quite frankly we're going to have some school closing their doors. And you can start with the City of Chicago."

Part of the problem, at least, is the slow but steady erosion, by tax relief and recession, of the state's traditional bases for property, sales and income taxes. At the local level, property tax revenues have been cut by the so-called homestead exemption, which was almost expanded for the second time in the fall session. At the state level, sales tax relief has gone to manufacturers then farmers and to all for purchass of food and nonprescription medicines. But tax relief by another name, is a reduced margin of new revenue for the state to fund programs. And now there's the new state investment credit on the business income tax, although that won't take effect until fiscal 1984.

Even more critical is the fact that the federal cuts in the income tax will cause Illinois to lose revenue from the state income tax. "I personally believe that we must look at the state income tax," says Gill. He says that increasing the income tax will relieve some of the local property tax burden and generate additional state dollars.

Educators may be looking at the in-come tax, but they are apparently split on whether to increase it outright or create a new local school district in-come tax. There's also the middle ground of a local option approach that is, let voters in a school dis-trict decide to replace the property tax with a local income tax. The so-called school district income tax has been debated these past few years. But tinkering with the statewide income tax has not been seriously debated, at least not as a direct means of financing schools.

"Practically speaking," says Kustra, "I don't see the Illinois General Assembly, caught between a primary and a general election, discussing, seri-ously, an increase in the income tax."

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