On Equity: The Illinois Dilemma Revisited: A Response to a Response

Aristotle writes that "…the source of battles and complaints is either that people who are equal have unequal shares, or that people who are not equal have equal shares, distributed to them."¹ Similarly stated, the issue is that "equals have and are awarded unequal shares, or unequals equal shares."² This again comes to the fore in a Response³ to our research on Illinois in which we analyze the equity, adequacy, and legal issues related to school finance. The Responders' quarrel with that portion of our research that addresses equity and create a de novo analysis, by treating unequals equally—an invalid endeavor fraught with difficulties to which we feel called upon to respond.⁴ However, they accept what we consider the major contribution of the equity portion of our work—dissemination of a method to provide analysis for all districts in Illinois, including elementary, high school, and unit school districts. Previously, research resulted in three separate analyses, thus, begging the question of whether or not the finance system as a whole was equitable. The answer to that question, whether using the Responders' or our analysis, is an unequivocal "no."

In this article, we further review the analytic framework used in The Illinois Dilemma⁵ and contrast it to the Responders, concluding that theirs is flawed. Our approach is widely used and discussed elsewhere in detail.⁶ It draws on the philosophical and legal dimensions of justice and fairness in education.⁷ We also replicate our study that used weighted pupils based on size and need to develop baseline equity statistics using unweighted pupils for comparison purposes. Finally, we address the Responders' apparent rationale for inequity based on an arbitrary cut-off point that draws only on select elementary districts in the state. We find this approach without merit as all pupils are pupils of the state including students in high school and unitary districts.

Equity Analysis

Analytic Framework

Is the Illinois finance system for public education equitable? Does it provide equal opportunities for children and youths to receive an adequate education? This section discusses funding in Illinois and our method and findings related to finance equity using weighted and unweighted analyses.

The state of Illinois finances public elementary and secondary schools by using three formulas to distribute funding. These include the Foundation, Alternative Method, and Flat Grant formulae. In FY '07, the foundation level was $5,334 per pupil for districts that have available local resources less than 93% of the foundation level. Districts that have 93% up to 175% of the foundation level from local funds use an Alternative Method formula which provides 7%–5% of the foundation level depending on the amount of local funding in relation to the foundation amount (93%–175%). Districts raising 175% or more of the foundation amount from local funds receive a flat grant of $218 per pupil.⁸ The state provides funds for transportation at $16 per pupil or actual eligible costs, which are less for a qualifying amount—for vocational and special education pupils at 80% of allowable costs, and there are six state funding mechanisms for special education. Beginning in FY 99 there is a separate Poverty Grant based on a three-year average of the local income count from the Department of Human Services. Also, 275 projects provide funds to assist with costs for students who are English Language Learners (ELLs). In addition, there are revenue, expenditure, budget, and tax rate provisions related to the General State Aid formula.⁹

Few state school finance systems can be characterized fully by state statute or law alone. States may start with a policy but modify it in a number of ways including hold-harmless provisions, proration, phasing in funding, floors and caps. This results in a "significant gap between intention and actual effect."¹⁰ According to Berne and Stiefel, "regardless of how the school finance system should be operating, the real test is how it actually operates."¹¹ Thus, we examine the impact of the funding system on children in schools...