Reframing the "Dilemma" in Illinois: A Response to Verstegen and Driscoll

The purpose of this study was to replicate the analysis made by D. Verstegen and L. Driscoll in The Illinois Dilemma (2008) utilizing the actual allocations to districts resulting from the funding formula in Illinois for the 2004-2005 school year to understand the influence of adjusted values on determinants of fiscal equity. The results of a study by the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) showed that actual, unadjusted values revealed a more fiscally inequitable system than reported by Verstegen and Driscoll as determined by the calculations traditional to school finance. For example, where Verstegen and Driscoll reported a range per pupil of $16,620 for all districts, IERC found a range of $28,578 per pupil.

Illinois' multiple district configurations influenced the analysis. Illinois has three basic types of school districts-elementary, high school, and unit (K-12) districts. Elementary districts, which represent 26.5% of the state's pupil count, contributed the greatest influence on the inequitable findings. Furthermore, IERC's study found ten elementary districts-representing just 0.29% of all pupils in Illinois-had considerable influence on fiscal equity, as evidenced by the range per pupil for all district types dropping to $9,468 from $28,579 when they were excluded from the analysis.

The study concludes that researchers must acknowledge the efforts that states employ to address additional funding for populations of interest, that policymakers must insist on both adjusted and unadjusted figures, and that an Illinois-specific and comprehensive report is needed which includes analyses of both General State Aid (the funding formula) and categorical aid which is outside the formula.