Joseph M. Cronin

THE PROBLEMS of budget, desegregation and meeting the educational needs of one of the largest and most diverse student populations in the nation are faced by the Illinois superintendent of education. The man who must face these problems is Joseph M. Cronin, the state's first appointed superintendent.

The following interview with Dr. Cronin took place in his Springfield office in February.

Adkins: Superintendent Cronin, after a year in office, how would you assess your accomplishments?

Cronin: My first task was to help the new State Board of Education assess its goals and directions. They had not come to agreement on that before they hired me. My feeling was, it would be an opportunity for me to help in that process. I asked for 90 days to visit schools throughout the state, and to get some idea of the status of education in Illinois. The experience was certainly very rewarding for me.

It was possible then to sit down with the state board and say 'OK, what's most important?,' and to talk about 25 or 30 areas that I thought needed improvement, and find that the state board could agree on 20 of those. So, working with the board and setting an agenda was the most gratifying for me. That's number one.

There are some other things. East St. Louis was in terrible disarray. Four board members were under indictment, a majority of the school board was in jail. I asked the state board if I could try to find a staff to help run the school system there, and the board agreed. Then we sent 80 staff members last August to help. As a result we've regained some of the public's confidence, and the quality of education has improved. We've lowered class size and used resources better. The whole feeling there is that we have turned the corner.

Adkins: You are the first occupant of the appointive office of superintendent. How do you define your duties, and how do they differ from those of the now defunct elective office?

Cronin: Well, I don't think I can make policy judgments by myself. I must take to the State Board of Education things like the size of the budgetary request, the nature of the legislative package, whether or not we join a court case in any capacity — those big decisions.

Let's take affirmative action. The board wanted to have me engage its affirmative action policy. They wanted to make sure that desegregation, or integration, was the most important thing we did. Earlier those decisions would have been made by one man sitting alone or with his staff. Now a board makes these critical judgments.

State aid to schools
Adkins: Is the state aid formula fair and equitable to students and taxpayers across the state?

Cronin: I think it is very helpful to low-income cities. Places like Chicago and East St. Louis get the most from it. The medium size cities like Springfield or Rockford have not benefited. In fact, they've been losing out, mainly because unit districts don't get the advantages they had previously. Some elementary districts and high school districts are closing, except those on the roll-back.

[The roll-back allows districts which have in the past been assessing property valued at a high equalization rate to decrease their assessment level. Since the wealth of a district is measured in terms of local assessed valuation for purposes of the state school aid formula equalizer, it was felt some districts were being unfairly penalized for complying with state law by assessing property value at 50 per cent of true market value. (Most districts had been assessing at a much lower rate.)]

The roll-back has turned out to be a terrible burden on the high-income suburbs, who've been exceedingly rich for many years, but now, to cope with inflation, have instituted tax cuts. Places like New Trier are on the ropes financially. This was never intended when they were asked to slow down their rate of improvements so that the poorer districts could catch up. But it's had a negative effect because it has slowed down the rate of improvement at a faster pace than was really intended by the Republican legislators who wanted the roll-back as a tax break for the beleaguered rich districts.

Adkins: What changes -would you favor in our system of educational finance in this state?

Cronin: Some of the 'givens' or stipulations come right from the State Board of Education. They think that having 31 categorical aid programs is too many; that we should consolidate the special education programs, and health education programs; and try to link those closely to the resource equalizer formula. That's one very important policy criticism made by the board staff.

Secondly, we should look at whether a property tax is the right way of calculating just exactly how much a school district's portion of state aid should be. Many people argue that it's a very unfair system.

6 / May 1976 / Illinois Issues

After one year In office as the first appointed school superintendent in Illinois, Cronin has 'accomplished a lot — but still has a big hill to climb'

Thirdly, we've got a task force report on declining enrollment that says we should not pay by the pupil. We lose money in paying this way. Anyway, we have formed a study commission to look into overhauling the formula. Adkins: Last May the Board of Education, to which you are responsible, released a status report on desegregation in Illinois Public Schools. The report showed that nine school districts had experienced increased segregation since adoption of desegregation guidelines by the former Office of the Superintendent in 1971. What course of action would you recommend to correct this situation? Cronin: We're revising the rules to provide for a process to bring those school districts into compliance with both federal and state laws. Mainly, we'll require those districts to come in with a plan that makes sense to the local communities.

Demerits for 9 school districts? Nine Illinois school districts were cited by the State Board of Education in early March for failing to comply with desegregation rules: Argo Summit 104, Cahokia 187, Chicago 299, Chicago Heights 170, Hazelcrest 152 1/2, Madison 12, Rockford 205, Springfield 186 and Waukegan 60. The rules require that each school in a district reflect within plus or minus 15 per cent the racial composition of the district as a whole. In a district with 20 per cent minority enrollment, each school should have 5 to 35 per cent minority enrollment, for example. Faculty must also reflect racial composition. Illinois has 1,029 school districts and 84 have minority populations of sufficient size to call for desegregation plans. Forty-four have plans in effect, six have plans to be implemented next fall, 23 have submitted plans which are being reviewed, and one was given a 90-day extension; finally, there are the 10 named above.

Adkins: Should the State Office of Education penalize those districts by withholding state or federal aid? Cronin: As a last resort. I would favor a court case in most situations prior to the actual shutting off of aid — that's a nuclear weapon, everybody agrees on that. But first I would favor a probationary status, with a warning of possible loss of state and federal aid. It just would be hard for some school districts to make the necessary changes fast enough. Adkins: Busing is certainly an emotional issue in Boston, an area where you have spent considerable time. Generally speaking, what do you think is at the bottom of this emotional response? Cronin: Well, I think it's a very emotional issue around the country, not just in Boston — San Francisco, Louisville, it's pretty widespread. We bus 750,000 students a day in Illinois, many across town, this way and that, but for some reason it's only busing to overcome racial segregation that upsets people. And that's unfortunate. Desegregation Adkins: Is it wise or feasible to attempt to integrate or desegregate schools along a percentage or quota basis? I'm referring in particular to the present state law which requires that each school be within 15 per cent of the district-wide racial makeup. Cronin: That really isn't a quota, it's more of an objective indicating whether or not schools have reflected segregation — which of course in many cases they have. Adkins: Are there equal educational opportunities for minorities in Illinois? Cronin: I don't think so. I think on the whole the minorities are schooled in old buildings, the teachers are less experienced, the dollars spent per pupil are less. Different state and federal programs have helped to turn that around, so that we're beginning to see some changes at least in the quality of resources that are being distributed. Adkins: Last year you recommended that the legislature pass a bill enabling the state board to submit its budget for school spending directly to the legislature, bypassing the governor and the state Bureau of the Budget. Why did you feel that the governor and the BOB should be excluded from the school budgeting process? Cronin: I don't think that they should be excluded.

JOSEPH M. CRONIN came to government service from a professorship at Harvard, where he had earned his bachelor's and master's degrees prior to receiving a doctorate at Stanford University in 1965. Cronin was the first secretary of educational affairs in Massachusetts, a post he held for three years. In Massachusetts he gained a reputation as an effective mediator by chairing a committee to resolve disputes arising from the opening of a new community college in a black neighborhood of Boston. A year later he was instrumental in coordinating various state agencies to enact provisions of a complex special education law. Another of his major accomplishments as secretary was his reorganization proposal for placing 31 college campuses and a department of elementary and secondary education under two education boards. He was subsequently chosen by the new Illinois Board of Education as our state's first superintendent of education. The board now has all the powers of the former elected superintendent of public instruction, and Cronin as appointed superintendent is the administrative officer for the board. Since taking office in January of 1975, Cronin has asked for tighter laws to control correspondence and trade schools and to eliminate sex discrimination in state schools.

May 1976 / Illinois Issues / 7

'I think with inflation, as well as declining enrollment, we are going to be hard-pressed to maintain a high level of education'

And we didn't submit a bill to make us independent of the governor. We had two bills: one making us independent of the Department of Personnel, and the second making us independent of the Department of Finance. Otherwise a governor — not this one, but some future governor — could slow down the payment to schools, which local school districts would then have to suffer. We considered a bill making us independent of the Bureau of the Budget, but a majority of the board felt that would be unwise.

We actually have access. We can file a bill directly with the legislature. But any governor could veto or reduce an appropriation. Yet the governor himself has said we need a measure of independence.

Adkins: In retrospect, how do you feel about Gov. Walker's school aid vetoes last year — the $81 million general aid veto and the $35 million cut in special education programs?

Cronin: I felt that if all agencies were going to have to take cuts, so should this agency. The general aid to schools was cut by five per cent. What I'm concerned about is the cut in special education, because that was 20 per cent, which was a veto cut not asked of most areas of government. One program, the special education construction fund, was cut 100 per cent. The bilingual education program will also be cut, which is most unfortunate.

Adkins: What effects do you see these vetoes having on educational quality in the state, and were they justified in light of the state's financial condition?

Cronin: Class sizes will be raised in many local districts, extra-curricular programs will be dropped, teachers will be let go.

I do think the state's treasury was low. Others have said maybe state spending should have been curtailed in some other areas, What's more important: spending for roads or investing in our children? Of course, I have a special concern about the schools, but I thought we had to take a very heavy share of the overall cuts.

Adkins: After the legislature failed to override the vetoes by the governor, the State Board of Education, at your recommendation, accelerated the payment of state aid funds to schools. Was this action fiscally responsible, or was it dangerous deficit spending as the governor charged?

Cronin: Well, the Republican senators who are champions of fiscal responsibility felt that it was my duty to pay out according to the formula, and not to make cuts. As I understand the law we have no authority to pay out less. Of course, the governor has taken us to court to decide who's right. [Sangamon County Circuit Judge J. Waldo Ackerman decided February 10 that the governor was right, that the state board could not make school aid payments for more than the amount that was appropriated.]

Supplemental appropriations
Adkins: The state board in Chicago on January 21 proposed a $100 million supplemental appropriation to be introduced in the spring session of the legislature. This amount was said to represent funds actually owed to local school districts by the state for this fiscal year. The total is $40 million less than the amount vetoed by Governor Walker, but is said to represent "full funding." Where were cuts made?

Cronin: Yes, of that amount $20 million were for programs the legislature added on, and the other $20 million were funds in vocational education, gifted and bilingual programs, which the law did not say we had to spend.

Adkins: The state aid budget is expected to reach $1.89 billion for fiscal 1977, with significant increases proposed for special education, bilingual programs and vocational schools. Do these boosts represent major increases in services?

Cronin: Yes. They represent two things. One, that's the price tag on existing formulas and statutes. Secondly, the state helps to pay a portion of the salaries of 15,000 professionals in the area of special education, vocational and bilingual schools, and this number of professionals was to have been cut by several thousand to balance the budget. What we've done is to restore that cut and also provide for the expansion of services by letting these professionals serve more students.

Adkins: Do you feel that enough is being done to educate bilingual students in this state?

Cronin: No, we've got 100,000 children of French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese and other nationalities, and we're certainly not doing enough to adequately educate them.

Adkins: Are there enough qualified teachers?

Cronin: We have been recruiting in places like Puerto Rico, Mexico and elsewhere, while taking some of our native teachers with language backgrounds and getting ready to certify them.

Adkins: What do you see as the largest problem facing Illinois schools in the next decade?

Cronin: Money. I think with inflation, as well as declining enrollment, we are going to be hard-pressed to maintain a high level of education.

Adkins: How would you assess the overall quality of education in our schools as compared with other states?

Cronin: Very highly; 1 would say our best is as good as anywhere in the country, but we are not uniform. Some of our best districts, like Arlington Heights, are outstanding, and some of our poorer areas, like Cairo, are coming up fast with the help of additional funds.

I'm concerned about some of the very poor rural schools. There are dozens of dilapidated buildings that are unsafe, with sagging floors and lockers that don't lock — that's terrible. It's very discouraging to see a low quality facility, and in some cases, teachers who just aren't either well-trained or inspired.

Adkins: Is there any area we have yet to touch on that you would like to discuss?

Cronin: One of my hopes for next year is to take a look at the curriculum. Along with the 'three R's' in education of basic skills, there is also a fourth R — responsibility. I want to put law education in the schools, along with the further teaching of economics, to have both business and labor studied — so that students understand the very complex world we live in, and so they can take an informed role in their community responsibilities.

8 / May 1976 / Illinois Issues