Gov. Rauner, time to sign school funding reform bill
“Equitable sounds like equal,” Yolanda said during our lesson on the meaning and relevance of an equitable funding formula. Even my third graders know that in order for communitymembers to receive what they need, each of them has to be met where they are. I have taught at three different Chicago schools where demographics are predominantly students of color and low income. The commonality? They are all underfunded despite serving students in need of intensive supports.
Senate Bill 1 addresses the state’s desperate need for school funding reform. My students are not 19% less worthy of a chance at success and yet for every $ 1.00 spent on a non- low income student, only $ 0.81 is spent on a low- income student. SB 1 will eliminate this inequity over time by distributing new state dollars according to district need. Yolanda and her peers across the state will have access to school essentials regardless of zip code. It is unacceptable to know this disparity exists, with the power to change it, and do nothing. Illinois students cannot wait another year while adults play politics with their education.
This summer, Illinois for Educational Equity is partnering with schools, parents, and community organizations statewide to coach and lead canvassing efforts for funding equity. We’re calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner to do what is best for the students and families of our state and sign Senate Bill 1. The time to properly invest in their futures is long overdue.
Ashley McCall, Bronzeville Bilingual teacher at César E. Chávez Multicultural-Academic Center
A newspaper’s responsibility to the arts and readers
I’m writing to urge the Sun- Times to hire m ore critics, columnists and voices of color in the arts and entertainment section. Fundamentally, art, in all of its expressions, is an exercise in mutual empathy. Thus any great group of artists must, by necessity, hail from a variety of backgrounds. Patrons and critics view art from a lens created by their personal experiences, and it is therefore necessary that arts critics and the publications that employ them seek to engage a diverse pool of writers who can reflect on the art they are critiquing from varying points of view. Chicagoans look to the Sun- Times for guidance when choosing which art to experience. I hope the paper will consider the incredible responsibility they have to the cultivation of art in our beautiful city when they make their hiring choices.
Emma Couling, Ravenswood