District 205 Superintendent Ralph Grimm has the unenviable task of preparing Galesburg schools for a mess, not of their own making.
No agreement on education funding for next year has been reached by Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic legislative leaders.
Grimm says even before the threat of no General State Aid is realized, Illinois has been prorating school funding since 2009.
It was when proration began that Grimm started to feel the state was in “trouble.”
He describes proration as owing someone a dollar but saying to them “I only have 89 cents.”
District 205 has not received $7.6 million they were owed by the funding formula since proration began.
Grimm tells Galesburg Live on WGIL that the school board will give administration guidance at a special meeting on June 29 regarding a plan for if state funds don’t come or what they’re calling a “doomsday scenario.”
“One of our overriding goals is if we’re forced to end school early or delay the start then we want people to know by July 15 what that plan is,” Grimm says. “So they will have a month to make the plans that they need to make.”
He cautions that these decisions will not only shape the next year but could likely affect education in 205 for the next decade.
Recalling economic hardships Galesburg has endured in recent years, Grimm said it would be a “swift kick to the knee” for 850 employees to be out of work for a portion of the school year.
