DECATUR, IL- It could be a stormy year for school districts across Illinois.
The state may solve part of its massive budget and pension funding problems by sticking local school districts with the bill. And in most cases school districts can not afford to pick up pension costs.
Governor Quinn is considering passing a large portion of the costs of teachers' pensions on to school districts. Many districts are already facing tight finances and simply can not afford it.
Some school districts would be forced to raise taxes to cover the pension costs, while other districts would have to make substantial budget cuts.
Passing on that liability would cost Decatur Public Schools millions of dollars each year. Director of Business Affairs Todd Covault estimates DPS could pay as much as $19 million more in pensions.
The Decatur School District does not have the legal authority to raise taxes, so it would have to look at budget cuts.
While costing schools a lot of money, the state thinks by passing off pension costs to public schools and universities, it can save over $1 billion a year.
