Understanding School Funding Reform:
ACCESS (Advocacy Center for Children’s Educational Success with Standards): This Web site, a project of the New York-based Campaign for Fiscal Equity , provides up to date information about school funding and quality reform efforts across the country.
Money Matters: A Reporter's Guide to School Finance, available from the Education Writers Association , which can also be reached at 202-452-9830.
Comparing Illinois to other states:
Education Trust’s The Funding Gap report 2008 : This report outlines key gaps in education funding across the nation, particularly for low-income and minority students. The Education Trust also produces other significant resourcesfor education data as does the Education Sector .
Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2005–06 (Fiscal Year 2006): The US Dept of Education's National Center for Education Statistics provides a state-by-state comparison of school funding sources and expenditures. Currently, Illinois ranks 49th in the nation for its share of school funding (see page six for details).
Comparing Schools and Districts within Illinois:
Interactive Illinois Report Card: Search by school, district or county to find information such as school test scores, student demographics, average teacher salary, per-pupil spending and district financial reports.
Illinois Local Education Agency Retrieval Network (ILEARN): The database hosted by the Illinois State Board of Education provides education finance information about a specific county, school district, region, or area within the state.
Calculating the true costs of school funding in Illinois:
Cost-Out Study for Illinois School Funding (formally known as “A Procedure for Calculating a Base Cost Figure and an Adjustment for At-Risk Pupils That Could Be Used in the Illinois School Finance System”) by Augenblick & Myers, Inc., June 2001
Education Funding Advisory Board , Final Report April 2005 . Previous EFAB report from October 2002 can be found here .