It looks like Illinois will keep most of its regional offices of education. A commission charged with reviewing the need for the offices and the position of Regional Superintendent released its recommendation today: it proposed cutting the number of offices from 44 to 35.
Offices would consolidate, and as many as 200 jobs would be cut. The reductions would start in 2015. Funding for the offices would come from the state’s general revenue fund and not from the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax as had been proposed.
Regional superintendents are elected officials: they went four months without pay last year after Governor Pat Quinn stripped their offices of state funding. Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools president Bob Daiber says his group is ready to embrace the consolidations in the best interest of the state’s taxpayers. The commission’s full report will be released Monday.