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FIRST ON WGIL: School Officials Favor Income Tax Increase
FIRST REPORTED 3:00pm 3/10/10 What turned out to be somewhat of a surprise proposal in Governor Pat Quinn's budget address might have been the best news of all for local school districts.

Galesburg School District Superintendent Doctor Gene Denisar says he was pleasantly surprised by Quinn's suggestion of what he called a one-percent income tax "surcharge" that would solely go to education spending, in his budget address heard live Wednesday on WGIL.

Denisar tells WGIL, however, he knows it wouldn't be easy getting such a thing passed.

"That type of initiative will need bipartisan support, of course," Denisar said. "I'm just hoping very much that the legislature will step up and work together to solve this funding crisis."

Denisar says such funding could end up resulting in many of the 78 teachers, aides, and other officials being re-hired. But, he says, even if that ends up equaling education spending that's equal to this year, some cuts will still have to be made.

Galesburg School District Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Guy Cahill tells WGIL that's all well and good, but even with that revenue, cuts can't be avoided.

"What I understand from (Quinn's) speech was that those monies would be sufficient enough to maintain funding at the current year levels," Cahill said. "We know that absent any action on our part, our budget would have grown by $600,000."

Cahill is currently finalizing a plan he's dubbed "Operation Program/Job Save" which, through other budget cuts, might result in some of those 78 teaching and aide positions the District-205 board cut Monday night being restored.

He says the district still needs to look at ways it improves doing business, state spending being made available or not.

Denisar encouraged State Representative Don Moffitt to not only support the income tax increase, even though details have yet to be revealed, but to reach across the aisle to get Democrats to support it, too.

Quinn said if the increase isn't passed, a nearly 11-percent cut in education spending will remain in tact.


(Galesburg School District Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Guy Cahill, left, and Superintendent Dr. Gene Denisar, center, speak with WGIL News Director Will Stevenson, right, during a live broadcast on WGIL Wednesday afternoon following Governor Pat Quinn's budget address. WGIL News Story by Will Stevenson. WGIL News Photo by Eric Hanson.)
03 10 10 by Newsroom
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