An updated method of funding public schools in Illinois won wide Senate support Wednesday, but Gov. Bruce Rauner's office came out in opposition to the plan.
The Republican's education adviser maintains that it would provide a "bailout" for Chicago schools to the detriment of other districts.
The revamp of the 20-year-old school funding formula is part of what began in the Senate as a "grand bargain" compromise to break a budget deadlock. It would establish an "evidence-based" model and funnel money into four "tiers" of schools based on their academic and economic needs. Illinois has the nation's largest gap in spending between affluent school districts and those serving poorer communities.
It was approved 35-18 — one vote short of the 36 needed to override a gubernatorial veto — and moved to the House with two weeks left in the Legislature's spring session.
