School leaders across the area are growing increasingly unhappy with the State of Illinois and their message to the public they are fully funding education but are behind on payments for areas like transportation and special education.
Lincoln High School Superintendent Robert Bagby says the situation with transportation funding for schools is becoming a serious issue. Right now, Lincoln High School has yet to receive a transportation payment this year.
For Bagby, the biggest complaint is the State telling districts they'll be getting payments, and then not following through. He says if the State would be upfront about how much money they will be getting, Lincoln High School could make it work.
When it comes to transportation funding, Bagby says the State has started increasing regulations and decreasing the funding.
Lincoln High School is fortunate to have an in-house solution for one of the major challenges many area schools face. Bagby explains their L-Tech program includes a shop for auto work, and their students are able to provide maintenance for several vehicles in their fleet.
Bagby indicates he has stopped keeping track of how much the state owes their school. He feels it doesn't do any good and credits all the entities that have come together to make the budgets balanced over the last several years.
