IL public education in trouble

[the4Rs]

I live in central IL and babysit for a special education public school teacher and and admissions counselor for a local community college. I just found out our school district is in MAJOR financial trouble and will most likely have to eliminate jobs and other things for the new school year and one of my good friends is on the potential chopping block.

 

And the college counselor told me that the state owes them $15 million for this current school year and even more to U of I (over $400 million) and other big state universities and our capital's public schools are not doing well either looking to eliminate many programs and 56 teacher jobs.

 

Are any other states suffering like this? IL finances are a disgrace and they are withholding the promised funds to educational institutions. What a mess. The college counselor said she is having potential students call seeing if they will be open in the fall because one of the big universities (sorry don't know which one) told the student to not even bother applying as they most likely won't be open in the fall!!

 

Makes me doubly glad we homeschool!!!

[Garga]

I have a teacher friend who says his school district is in serious trouble. He's pretty concerned about his job, but seemed down about it and didn't give too many details. We're not in IL.

[Xuzi]

My parents are both public school teachers in California. They had NO classroom budget this year (not even lottery money which is *supposed* to be for their classroom expenses). They've also taken a significant cut in pay (about 1k a month less than they made last school year) and EVERY teacher in their district had to "interview" for their jobs last Summer. Lots and lots of teachers were laid off. Needed building improvements were put off, and they're trying to find any way they can to cut expenses.

 

Last I heard from them there were several districts in CA that were considering suing the state for not providing them with their legally mandated funding. It'll probably be like trying to squeeze blood from a rock.

[cathmom]

My sister just told me tonight that NJ has cut some funding to all their school districts.

[Cera]

We live in Hawaii, land of furlough Friday. Kids are only in school Mon, Tues, Thurs and half day Wed most weeks because they can't afford to run the schools (it's great for us though, there are some amazing Friday day camps available now).

[the4Rs]

Wow! I didn't realize it was this bad across the board.

[StartingOver]

I am in South Texas. The public schools all around here are cutting teachers, transportation, sports, etc., etc., etc. Teachers and Administration are stressed, the shortfall for budget is huge. It is not looking good.

[unsinkable]

NY is a mess, too.

 

The state has to cut funding BUT school districts have emergency funds they don't want to use. :glare:

[5wolfcubs]

AZ is equally grim. My dd15 and I just read & discussed some finance articles for her math class. One article stated the state owes the public schools $350M in April and $100M to the 3 state universities...but they are planning to defer payment to help balance the state budget. :(

[mrsrevmeg]

I live in Alabama. Our local school was on the chopping block to be closed, but no other school could take in the students. So we have teachers and librarians that work in multiple schools, no full-time nurse, one principal, etc.. Oh, no art or music classes. The lower grades only do math and language arts.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I do feel bad for those whose jobs are on the chopping block. OTOH I do question the actions of school administrators and school boards all over the country. I believe that decades of bad decisions have also led to this mess. Locally they built a 52 million dollar highschool when the previous building were still very usable. In fact, the one building was taken over by a college for classes and is a historic building. The voters voted against this by voting the school board out only to be told that it was too late to stop the project:confused: The other buildings are still in use as well. I hear these stories over and over again.

 

You also hear of cadillac health care with little cost incurred by the school employees unlike the private sector which pays out the nose. Plus the pensions and often the salaries are significantly higher than other professionals in area communities. On top of that you hear that "it is who you know" as well that there are make-believe jobs:001_huh: In our neck of the woods there has actually been arrests for bribery and more are expected.

 

Additionally, I have read of schools all over the country spending millions of the latest, greatest, fuzzy math or reading texts:001_huh: I am sorry but math and reading do not change much and there are cheaper and even free alternatives that are much better such as Singapore Math, Webster's Speller, etc.

 

Then you hear of schools with the Olympic pools and similar attributes which really are not necessary for a solid education IMHO.

 

To me it is an outrage, when the schools are spending $15,000 to $24,000 per student in many cases and they are still crying poverty:001_huh:

 

Of course, I have strong liberal tendencies, but I still have a conservative twist:D I do believe in free public education that is available to all. I also think that teachers should be paid well, but within reason. I was shocked to learn of a local teacher making 80,000 dollars per year when as a RN for most of 22 year career in nursing, I was lucky to make over 40, 000 year in the last few years of my career and that was without the cadillac benefits and no pension:001_huh:

 

I also think that school funding should be re-tooled. I think it is unfair to have elite public schools in rich neighborhoods and atrocious schools with little funding in poor neighborhoods. There should be a more equitable funding mechanism IMHO. I also think that if a school building is unsafe that should be fixed since I have heard of horror stories around the country:(.

 

I think schools need to radically re-think the way that they are doing things IMHO and to get back to basics:) I also believe in radical school choice and vouchers as one way to help reform our schools.

Edited February 21, 2010 by priscilla
clarify, spelling

[unsinkable]

I do feel bad for those whose jobs are on the chopping block. OTOH I do question the actions of school administrators and school boards all over the country. I believe that decades of bad decisions have also led to this mess. Locally they built a 52 million dollar highschool when the previous building were still very usable. In fact, the one building was taken over by a college and is a historic building. The voters voted against this by voting the school board out only to be told that it was too late to stop the project:confused: The other buildings are still in use as well. I have these stories over and over again.

 

You also hear of cadillac health care with little cost incurred by the school employees unlike the private sector which pays out the nose. Plus the pensions and often the salaries are significantly higher than other professionals in area communities. On top of that you hear that "it is who you know" as well that there make-believe jobs:001_huh: In our neck of the woods there has actually been arrests for bribery and more are expected.

 

Additionally, I have read of schools all over the country spending millions of the latest, greatest, fuzzy math or reading texts:001_huh: I am sorry but math and reading do not change much and there are cheaper and even free alternatives that are much better such as Singapore Math, Webster's Speller, etc.

 

Then you hear of schools with the Olympic pools and similar attributes which really are not necessary for a solid education IMHO.

 

To me it is an outrage, when the schools are spending $15,000 to $24,000 per student in many cases and they are still crying poverty:001_huh:

 

Of course, I have strong liberal tendencies, but I still have a conservative twist:D I do believe in free public education that is available to all. I also think that teachers should be paid well, but within reason. I was shocked to learn of a local teacher making 80,000 dollars per year when as a RN for most of 22 year career in nursing, I was lucky to make over 40, 000 year and that was without the cadillac benefits and no pension:001_huh:

 

I think schools need to radically re-think the way that they are doing things IMHO and to get back to basics:)

 

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

Nearly everything you wrote is true of NY schools.

[LauraGB]

I know there have been cuts across the board here. One thing I've noticed with several districts is that some are eliminating gifted programs. Another really big (and very new) thing is that several of them are launching virtual schools this fall. My old high school (as well as the public middle school in the same district) has been advertising thier virtual school for grades 6-12 since spring. They said it will still cost them $ for books, laptops, teachers, etc, but considerably less than it would if they attended the bricks and mortar school. Along with that, of course, must be teacher cuts.

[Stacy in NJ]

educational spending for the coming academic year.

 

You know what? I'm glad. Our inner city schools spend an outrageous amount of money per pupil (in excess of $20,000). These are callled Abbott districts and receive extra funding, and they are abysmal failures. The charter schools spend half that amount and have significantly improved results. Our leafy suburbs spend half that amount and are incredibly competitive academically. Our property taxes are enough to make a reasonable person ill. We recently purchased an historic home; our annual property taxes are $18,000. That's right $18,000. I didn't misplace a comma or decimal.

 

Education in the USA is a bloated nightmare. This economic crisis presents a wonderful opportunity to bust up the education chartel, at least how it exists in NJ.

Edited February 21, 2010 by Stacy in NJ

[jujsky]

Our district is cutting several positions for next year which will end up increasing the classroom size to about 30 kids for most elementary classes from 3rd grade up (they want to keep the classrooms smaller at the younger grades). They plan on instituting pay-to-play for extra-curricular activities, and they're thinking of offering less classes (foreign language, art, music) for high school students which could potentially impact their entrance into college. IL certainly isn't alone!

[Desert Rat]

Our district is understaffed for ps by 250 teachers and they are eliminating teacher positions next fall. I have no idea where they are going to cut. We're already one of the worst districts in the nation. The governor here wants citizens to purchase gift cards to give to teachers for supplies and books. Scary stuff.

Edited February 21, 2010 by Kalah
wrong word

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Our district is cutting several positions for next year which will end up increasing the classroom size to about 30 kids for most elementary classes from 3rd grade up (they want to keep the classrooms smaller at the younger grades). They plan on instituting pay-to-play for extra-curricular activities, and they're thinking of offering less classes (foreign language, art, music) for high school students which could potentially impact their entrance into college. IL certainly isn't alone!

 

Yes, but if they think out of the box, then they would not have to cut foreign languages, gifted education, etc. For example, they could utilize virtual classes in the school that allow the schools to offer classes without shouldering a large expense for a teacher. This could also be used to allow gifted children to go at an accelerated pace. This is being done in some parts of the country:)

 

Again, I also think radical school choice, charters, and vouchers will improve things for less. My ds attends a public cyber charter school which does cost less and offers a rigorous education:)

[Maria from IN]

It doesn't surprise me one bit. I used to live in central IL and it seemed like we weren't even part of the state. If you're not in Chicago, you might as well be in another state altogether as far as funding and education programs go.

[ekarl2]

Anyone watch John Stossel's report on Government-run schools on Thursday? VERY interesting. It is SO, SO sad to see parents literally fighting for charter spots. Funding is not the issue. In DC they spend $15k per kid! During their voucher program (which our current administration canceled), the kids were given $7.5k each to go to private school. After one year the voucher kids were 14 months ahead of their peers in reading.

 

- Tenure is BAD, BAD, BAD. If you stink at your job, you should get FIRED!!! If you have air-tight tenure, even if you started out as someone who wanted to do a good job, it's easy to lose that drive when the lazy, good-for-nothing teacher in the room next door is making the same $$ as you and can't be fired. Why try harder?

 

- There is no back up for discipline problems. So demoralizing when you're trying to teach and little Johnny Spaz-out is constantly disrupting your class.

 

- Tort Reform. Parents sue the school for all kinds of things. The schools are scared, so they give in. This relates to the prior point.

 

I firmly believe that school choice (vouchers) and public schools can co-exist. They do in Belgium with great results. The vouchers (competition) just force public schools to try hard instead of just throwing money at the problem.

 

The biggest lobby against school choice is the teacher's unions. They'd lose dues-paying members. Shame on them.

[cathmom]

I do feel bad for those whose jobs are on the chopping block. OTOH I do question the actions of school administrators and school boards all over the country. I believe that decades of bad decisions have also led to this mess. Locally they built a 52 million dollar highschool when the previous building were still very usable.

 

I noticed this in a nearby town. They are having to build new elementary schools constantly as more people move here, and I read an article about sites for future schools. They were only considering like 10 acre sites! I highly doubt that the elementary school I went to was on more than 2 acres! And it seems like they have something against building 2 story elementary schools for some reason, which would make the footprint even smaller.

[Avila]

It doesn't surprise me one bit. I used to live in central IL and it seemed like we weren't even part of the state. If you're not in Chicago, you might as well be in another state altogether as far as funding and education programs go.

 

That is sure the truth. Here in southern IL, we are ignored completely. We are in a suburb of St. Louis, and we get no consideration AT ALL from Illinois down here. Politicians hardly ever campaign down here, and all state-wide programs are aimed at and based in Chicago.

 

My local school district did redistricting to make sure that all the schools had the right number of low-income students to recieve Chapter 1 funding, but since they don't do anything substantive with the funding, it just means that all the schools here are now academically abysmal. Class sizes continue to go up, teachers get paid more, and nothing remotely academic is happening. It is really, really sad.

[RegGuheert]

Are any other states suffering like this?

Only CA and AZ have larger budget gaps than IL. All states have budget gaps except for MT and ND. Here is an article with a map showing all of the states' budget situations.

I do feel bad for those whose jobs are on the chopping block. OTOH I do question the actions of school administrators and school boards all over the country. I believe that decades of bad decisions have also led to this mess. Locally they built a 52 million dollar highschool when the previous building were still very usable. In fact, the one building was taken over by a college for classes and is a historic building. The voters voted against this by voting the school board out only to be told that it was too late to stop the project:confused: The other buildings are still in use as well. I hear these stories over and over again.

Ugh! We voted out our school board a few years ago to stop a $44M high school project. The entire hierarchy of the school system was replaced in short order, beginning with the superintendent who weekly used the local paper as a bully pulpit to beg for more money. Fortunately, we were able to put a stop to the nonsense. I can't imagine how mad we voters would have been had the construction project continued.

 

Our country needs to come to grips with this new reality: Ponzi-based creative financing has no place in the world where energy production has peaked. No longer can you depend on their being more available in the future to pay off the debts of today. We need to learn this lesson at the level of federal, state and local government, at the corporate level and at the private level. Times will continue to be very hard until we have made the appropriate adjustments to our expectations and expenditures, including school spending.

[FO4UR]

There is talk of school closings and teacher lay-offs here in OH too.

 

I was thinking this might be a good time for me to try some tutoring, unfortunately for the dc who cannot HS or go to a private school.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

The college counselor said she is having potential students call seeing if they will be open in the fall because one of the big universities (sorry don't know which one) told the student to not even bother applying as they most likely won't be open in the fall!!

 

 

That is an irresponsible statement, no matter what the financial condition of the university.

 

I live in central IL and our district has posted the amount the state owes it and how many jobs that equals on every school marquee in the city.

 

In an effort to reduce the district's budget they are not going to fill two positions where the teachers are retiring at the end of the current school year. These teachers make well over $100,000 each.

[the4Rs]

This is such a mess. I know the school system is broken and has been for a long time and frankly I am glad they are not spending more money on the schools but I do feel badly for my friends who rely on their jobs in public education and will most likely be let go or affected directly by these cuts.

 

OTOH- Most of these teachers and helpers that I know have very little positive to say about their jobs and the schools so maybe this is a blessing in disguise.

 

Instead I fear that the school districts are too used to being "entitled" to too much funding that I don't know if they can think creatively enough to function without it.

[Mergath]

Didn't see MN mentioned yet... our state government has delayed funding that is supposed to go to the public schools so that they can use the money for other stuff, which means many of the schools are going to have to take out loans until they get their funding. Which means paying a bunch of money in interest. Of course, it's not just the schools suffering here, the governor cut funding for pretty much everything, from education to health care, while simultaneously lowering taxes for large corporations. He's not planning to run for another term, so I guess he's doing his wealthy buddies as many favors as he can before he's out. Ugh. Makes me physically ill just to think about it.

[JFSinIL]

We are U-46 - second biggest district in IL. They are talking of eliminating many electives at the high schools - cutting the kids back one full class time, which will make many of the kids look less competitive for college. I was fully intending to have all the kids (well, not SillyAutismBoy, who attends a special school) do public high school, taking as many Honors/AP as possible...which worked well for the oldest. But it looks like home school high school may be in the cards for the youngest. Sigh.

 

DS deliberately did NOT apply to any Illinois public colleges. Only private LACs that look to have money...and a few out-of-state schools that have also offered him in-state tuition and/or merit aid. So - how are the finances in Minnesota, Michigan and Montana?

[HeatherInWI]

Indiana is doing lots of serious cutting, because they are wise enough to be trying to live within their tax revenue. Wisconsin, on the other hand, seems to be trying to dig as deeply into debt as possible, so I haven't heard any talk of cutbacks here.

[stripe]

Yes, I think this is fairly universal. I heard California was thinking of eliminating 12th grade due to budgetary concerns (although I looked it up and it seems to be Utah).

[AuntieM]

It's bad in Kansas City, too. There is a proposal afoot that calls for the closing of appx 30 schools in the KCMO school district. Many of these schools are underpopulated, so the plan is rational, but it is only now being pursued because the district appears to be on the road to bankruptcy.

 

Here in the burbs on the Kansas side, the two big area school districts have recently had public meetings about the need to make big cuts. We are in an area with a highly regarded quality of public education (which is, imo, always debatable, but I digress...) and parents are outraged. I'm sure there will be more grim news in the months to come.

[LibrarianMom]

Our central IL high school is letting 8 teachers go for the fall. Other districts are doing the same. Several state universities are requiring all employees to take a certain number of unpaid furlough days and many are not happy about it. My husband has had to take furlough days in the past when working for the federal government and at his current position in private higher education. It's rough but they have had plenty of notice it is going to happen. The state is simply unable to pay their bills and the students are suffering. In the midst of this, we have fools running for governor who insist they will not raise taxes. Hello! How are you not going to raise taxes?

 

There is certainly a huge cultural divide between Chicago and the rest of the state. Previously I read grants for ISBE and a certain number are always ear-marked for Chicago and the suburbs. The remainder were distributed by congressional district. It was quite eye-opening.

[Lilymax]

Here in GA, we're right in the middle on that "budget gap" map. My DH works for the state (not in education) and has had to take unpaid furlough days the past year.

 

Teachers are having to take them, too. Friends who are PS teachers have talked about the increase in class sizes. Every school I drive by in our county is surrounded by a dozen or more trailers...I guess they do that instead of building new schools to fit the student population growth.

 

Another teacher friend told me that she no longer has a full-time assistant in her classroom. It used to be that all classes under a certain grade level had a paid parapro in there all day. Now, if parents don't volunteer, she has no one. And they upped her number of students, many of whom are ESL. I don't know how she does it--I'd have cracked a long time ago!

[ekarl2]

This is such a mess. I know the school system is broken and has been for a long time and frankly I am glad they are not spending more money on the schools but I do feel badly for my friends who rely on their jobs in public education and will most likely be let go or affected directly by these cuts.

 

 

 

Te more pubic schools slack, the more private education and charter schools will grow. These teachers will find jobs, they'll just be at private schools or charters.

[StartingOver]

Someone has to educate the kids, the times are changing. Public education if falling. I can see more and more charters. Work by computers from home. I don't see it as a bad thing, except for those parents where both must work, and they won't have daycare for smaller ones. Families may become more close knit out of necessity. This could really be a good thing for America.

 

I truly believe we are headed for a depression, if we aren't already in one ( Some states sure are.). It will be much worse, before it gets better.

[tex-mex]

My parents are both public school teachers in California. They had NO classroom budget this year (not even lottery money which is *supposed* to be for their classroom expenses). They've also taken a significant cut in pay (about 1k a month less than they made last school year) and EVERY teacher in their district had to "interview" for their jobs last Summer. Lots and lots of teachers were laid off. Needed building improvements were put off, and they're trying to find any way they can to cut expenses.

 

Last I heard from them there were several districts in CA that were considering suing the state for not providing them with their legally mandated funding. It'll probably be like trying to squeeze blood from a rock.

 

:iagree: I used to teach in ps in CA. From what I hear from friends who are still teaching -- CA has closed down schools in neighborhoods where foreclosures are record breaking high (low # students to justify keeping school open -- they transfer to a nearby school. And staff either transfers or gets laid off.). My friends also mentioned the lawsuit from the teacher's union and school districts too -- highly doubt they will win as there IS NO MONEY.

 

Pink slips are now flowing in to teachers and they are in a mad scramble for finances. This was coming down the pike for CA since they slashed property taxes in the late 70's with the passing of Prop 13. I recall teaching in the 80's and 90's with no budget for supplies or funding for art/music/PE/computers in the elementary grades. (However, if you were a TITLE I program -for underperforming and low income schools- the federal govt gave you $$$ for a computer lab. LOL) It always made me jealous to hear of schools in other states that had BIG budgets. I would spend up to $1500 a year (out of my paycheck) for my school supplies or curriculum. So what other states are now experiencing -- I'm like... yup, BTDT. That (and NCLB) made me decide to leave teaching as a profession. It was miserable to teach with the way state/local funding was and the morale with low test scores was horrible. Depressing.

 

Prop 13 hurt CA -- and now add in the current "Great Recession" $$$ problem for the nation. It created a huge mess for the state in all areas. No surprise to hear other states are hurting too.

Edited February 21, 2010 by tex-mex

[momtothreeboys]

Yes, I think this is fairly universal. I heard California was thinking of eliminating 12th grade due to budgetary concerns (although I looked it up and it seems to be Utah).

I live in Utah and the local senator sponsoring this bill is considered an idiot by most. The main reason he wants to cut 12th grade is because he thinks all students goof off all year and so he figures he cut the budget by doing away with the 12th grade goof off year. He is basing this off of other countries whose education system is better than our state's education system and the fact that they don't have a 12th grade in their countries. What he is forgetting is that most of those countries he wants to follow have higher standards in math and other subjects that are higher than the current Utah standards.

[Denise in IN]

It doesn't surprise me one bit. I used to live in central IL and it seemed like we weren't even part of the state. If you're not in Chicago, you might as well be in another state altogether as far as funding and education programs go.

 

I grew up in central Illinois and worked in social services there for a few years after college. I hated this about Illinois. I'm so glad to live in Indiana!

 

I believe there have been some cuts to education funding here, but overall our state is fiscally sound.

[4mkfam]

Te more pubic schools slack, the more private education and charter schools will grow. These teachers will find jobs, they'll just be at private schools or charters.

 

Even a lot of private schools are suffering, though, due to economy. Dh taught foreign language at a private Christian school was laid off a couple years back due to lower enrollment, even before the economy got *really* bad.

 

...The humor in the situation? He's working for a homeschool publisher now, and business is BOOMING :lol:. I think we got in on a good thing! :001_smile:

[mommaduck]

Someone has to educate the kids, the times are changing. Public education if falling. I can see more and more charters. Work by computers from home. I don't see it as a bad thing, except for those parents where both must work, and they won't have daycare for smaller ones. Families may become more close knit out of necessity. This could really be a good thing for America.

 

I truly believe we are headed for a depression, if we aren't already in one ( Some states sure are.). It will be much worse, before it gets better.

 

:iagree: Homeschooling can allow parents to works different shifts though.

[MamaHappy]

It is bad everywhere.. We live in WA and it's just as bad here. Last year they cuts lots and lots of teachers and this year they will cut more. It is just ridiculous. Several districts in our state recently sued the state for "lack of funding for basic education" and won. Of course, they won't see any money from this but I suppose it makes a statement. My husband is a high school ps teacher and he is really seeing the effects of the huge budget cuts....kids are having a hard time getting to school because of lack of bus transportation, class sizes are rising (as if they can get any bigger!?!?), teacher morale is down, alternative schools are being shut down which means a higher drop-out rate, I could just go on and on.

[DawnL]

I'm in WA, too, and we are one of only ten states that does not allow Charter schools. So that is one less option for families in my state.

 

It is bad, everywhere, and only getting worse.

[bbmom]

We are in CA, and one of the big reasons we are looking into homeschooling is the budget crisis-we live in an affluent area and we passed a new parcel tax, and we are still (as a district) looking at a $36 million budget shortfall this year. When 85% of the budget is personnel, that winds up being the only thing to cut, so class size for K-3 (which has been at 20 for decades) is going up to twenty-eight. Twenty-eight kindergarteners to one teacher who has one aide 5 hours a week (and the school has to raise the money to pay for that aide.) Our school raises an extra $250,000 a year from parent donations so at least we keep the minimal aide time, art, music, computers, etc. but still-28 5-6 year olds to one teacher makes me cringe. It's just bad everywhere. No charter schools in our district and the private schools run $20,000 a year. Not a lot of choices.

[Mergath]

Te more pubic schools slack, the more private education and charter schools will grow. These teachers will find jobs, they'll just be at private schools or charters.

 

That's not a certainty, though. And it won't happen overnight. In the meantime, teachers and students will be the ones to suffer.

[ekarl2]

That's not a certainty, though. And it won't happen overnight. In the meantime, teachers and students will be the ones to suffer.

 

One would counter that they're suffering already ...

[dirty ethel rackham]

It doesn't surprise me one bit. I used to live in central IL and it seemed like we weren't even part of the state. If you're not in Chicago, you might as well be in another state altogether as far as funding and education programs go.

 

Well, I live in one of the "best school districts" in the state (most referendums asking for $$$ pass around here) and we have budget shortfalls. Basically, the state of IL is not paying its bills. Our local school district is owed over $4 mil from the state. The state will have to cut $11 mil from the budget over the next 2 years in order to a balanced budget. This is already on top of a $3 million cut already.

[JFSinIL]

Well, I live in one of the "best school districts" in the state (most referendums asking for $$$ pass around here) and we have budget shortfalls. Basically, the state of IL is not paying its bills. Our local school district is owed over $4 mil from the state. The state will have to cut $11 mil from the budget over the next 2 years in order to a balanced budget. This is already on top of a $3 million cut already.

 

Our district is owed over 12 million :-(

[Mergath]

One would counter that they're suffering already ...

 

Very true. Which is why I'd hate to see that suffering increased in any way.

[Only me]

How will this affect the universities in Illinois, especially NIU since my daughter might be going there? Also it is such a dilemma. Currently dd is trying to decide between two schools-a state school and a private school. She will get a merit scholarship at the private school but we would still have to pay 24K tuition. We are still waiting for our official FAFSA numbers but I highly, highly doubt we will get any aid. I hate to have her take out so many loans, especially since she wants to major in elementary education. Will she even be able to get a job when she graduates? On the other hand, if the state funded universities are in such financial trouble is it possible that a lot of programming will be cut and would she be better off in the long run at the private school?

Edited February 22, 2010 by hpymomof3

[LibrarianMom]

I wouldn't worry that much about the universities. There will be cuts but mostly in support staff and upgrades to computers and copiers. Library hours and other office hours may be cut. As for the library hours, the website, the databases, and the library catalog are available 24/7. Students at NIU (and all other Illinois public universities as well as many private colleges) have access to over 9 million books through our library consortium which provides delivery in approximately 3 business days (and often faster).

 

As far as financial aid, I wouldn't count on the Illinois MAP grants but most of your financial aid would probably come from other sources anyway.

[Photo Ninja]

How will this affect the universities in Illinois, especially NIU since my daughter might be going there? Also it is such a dilemma. Currently dd is trying to decide between two schools-a state school and a private school. She will get a merit scholarship at the private school but we would still have to pay 24K tuition. We are still waiting for our official FAFSA numbers but I highly, highly doubt we will get any aid. I hate to have her take out so many loans, especially since she wants to major in elementary education. Will she even be able to get a job when she graduates? On the other hand, if the state funded universities are in such financial trouble is it possible that a lot of programming will be cut and would she be better off in the long run at the private school?

 

It is hard to say. I'm not in IL. I know that in my state, my oldest son was supposed to go to a state school. In August the school notified him and several thousand other students that they would not be able to take classes there this year even though they had been admitted. It was too late to go to any other college, even community college. They also were not admitting students for winter semester. So, my oldest has wasted an entire year that he could have and wanted to be in college. He decided that the state colleges are not reliable and will be going out of state to school this summer. The state colleges are now telling students to plan on a minimum of 6 years in order to get their degree. That is if nothing changes again, and given the financial situation, it is likely that more classes will be cut, and that time could be extended.

 

So the question becomes, is it worth going to a private college that costs more and graduate in 4 years or take a chance with a state school and pay costs for at least 6 years - if you can finish a degree in only 6 years? Many private colleges give more money for scholarships and grants than state schools. I have another son who opted for a private school. He will be able to graduate in 4 years. When considering the academic scholarship he received and a small grant the school gave him (state schools offered no money at all!), he pays the same amount yearly that a student at a state university, living on campus, would pay, but the state school student will have to pay for 6 years, and my son for only four years. So my son, at a private school, will pay less.

 

It won't always work out that way, but it can.