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What do Illinois teachers, families, and educators want the state’s Board of Education to prioritize? Reliable transportation funding and a $350 million increase toward K-12 education are the top concerns, according to budget requests submitted throughout the fall.
The Illinois State Board of Education held budget hearings in September and October to get input from the public regarding the budget for the next fiscal year. During a board meeting Thursday, officials said they received a total of 938 budget requests this year, up from 826 last year.
Eileen Turanchik, ISBE budget director, said 291 people submitted requests to keep transportation funding at the current level or increase it next year.
“Districts emphasized rising transportation costs, ongoing driver shortages, and challenges maintaining safe and reliable fleets,” Turanchik said. “Many described transportation as one of their most significant operational pressures, especially in rural and geographically large districts.”
Another 108 people submitted requests to increase the state’s evidence-based funding formula by at least $350 million. That’s how much lawmakers said they would add annually for at least 10 years after they overhauled the K-12 funding formula in 2017.
Others pushed for funding increases for career and technical education and alternative schools.
Illinois State Superintendent Tony Sanders is expected to present a budget plan for fiscal year 2027 to the state board at its January meeting. That plan will then go to Gov. JB Pritzker, who will propose a full state budget in February for approval by the General Assembly in late May. The state’s fiscal year starts July 1 and ends June 30.
In the fiscal year 2026 budget passed in May, the state’s General Assembly allocated an additional $307 million to the state’s K-12 evidence-based funding formula. The formula distributes state dollars based on districts’ enrollment numbers, the enrollment of student groups such as English learners, and how much money a district can raise on its own through property tax revenue.
When the formula was created in 2017, lawmakers promised to provide an additional $350 million a year to fund school districts around the state with the goal of fully funding public schools by 2027. However, a report found that at the current funding level, the state will likely not be able to fully fund schools until 2034.
The Illinois State Board of Education told Chalkbeat in June that this year the agency paused the Property Tax Relief Grant for schools, which received $50 million in previous years.
Overall, the state’s education budget grew from $10.8 billion in fiscal year 2025 to almost $11.2 billion in 2026. ISBE officials said Thursday the budget requests from the public for fiscal year 2027 amounted to $748 million in new money.
Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.
Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.
