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Plan to cut regional school chiefs advances

BY KURT ERICKSON
The Southern Springfield Bureau

SPRINGFIELD — A House committee unanimously endorsed a plan Tuesday to cut the number of regional school superintendents in an attempt to slash spending on the state’s education bureaucracy.

Under a plan heading for a vote in the full House, the number of regional offices of education would be reduced to 35, down from a current 44.

The measure is an outgrowth of a task force formed after Gov. Pat Quinn attempted to eliminate all of the offices last year. Rather than saving $12 million under the governor’s plan, the scaled-down proposal is expected to save $1.5 million.

“We realize the necessity to look at efficiencies,” said Robert Daiber, the Madison County regional superintendent and president of a statewide organization representing the school chiefs.

Regional school superintendents oversee offices that assist local school districts with teacher certification issues and school bus driver background checks. Quinn says those tasks could be handled at the local level, but supporters of the regional offices say they serve a valuable purpose.

The legislation does not specifically outline which of the offices would be eliminated, but officials say regional offices that serve smaller population bases are likely to be targeted. That puts regional offices in deep Southern Illinois in the crosshairs. In addition, it also could affect regional offices covering Logan, Woodford, Jefferson and Hamilton counties.

Other regional offices would remain virtually untouched by the plan. For example, the regional office covering Coles, Clark, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Moultrie and Shelby counties, already covers the largest land area in the state and likely has enough population to survive being altered.