Several Illinois counties have advisory referendum on the primary ballot that endangers public school funding

SPRINGFIELD - About 10 percent of Illinois voters will see an advisory referendum on their primary election ballots asking them to weigh in on whether they think the state should join a federal school voucher scheme.

The Illinois Education Association (IEA) urges Illinoisans to vote "NO" on the question, which is misleadingly worded to make voters think no public money will be used.

As it stands now, 80 percent of public schools are underfunded in Illinois. The federal plan, much like Illinois's recently lapsed "Invest in Kids" program, takes tax dollars away from public schools and gives that money to private schools.

In Illinois, it drained up to $75 million in state money from public schools that educate 90 percent of our students.

In Illinois, we learned that vouchers:

• Benefit mostly white students;
• Fund private schools that are not subject to the same state testing standards, nor are teachers held to the same professional standards, as those in public schools;
• Failed to demonstrate a financial need among student recipients by not tracking how many students actually switched from public schools to private schools after receiving a scholarship, or whether public money funded students who had been in private schools all along;
• Sent public money to private schools which can discriminate based on physical or emotional special needs, gender identity issues, moral values and religion.
• And, research demonstrates that students using vouchers often perform worse academically than their peers in public schools.

The IEA's annual Illinois State of Education in Illinois report, shows 69 percent of residents in our state support increasing funding to public schools in Illinois and that 85 percent believe ALL students are entitled to a public education.

"Public money should stay in public schools," said IEA President Karl Goeke. "We've already walked this path in Illinois, and we learned that vouchers are a scheme. Education is the great equalizer for the youth in our state. We owe our children, no matter where they live, the color of their skin, how much money their parents earn, the best we can possibly give them. Vouchers do the exact opposite. We've learned this lesson. Let's not repeat it."

To see if your county (or in some cases your township) will have the question on the ballot, you can look at this list. The primary is March 17. Early voting began Feb. 5. You can read more about the question in materials prepared by Illinois Families for Public Schools.

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The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state's largest union. IEA represents Pre K-12 teachers outside the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.