ROCKFORD — It's been two weeks since the launch of the state’s new tax credit scholarship program for private schools and more than $41 million has been pledged.
Nearly $33.5 million of the contributions are in Cook County, which means the funds will go toward scholarships for students there.
In Region 2 – home to Winnebago, Boone and Stephenson counties – donations through Jan. 15 totaled nearly $5.3 million. Exactly what those donations will mean in terms of dollars for local students is not known at this time.
Despite the uncertainties, private school leaders here are celebrating the beginning of one of the most significant changes in education funding in the history of Illinois. Meanwhile, public school leaders are cautiously awaiting details on how the change will affect them and low-income students.
Students like Braylon Rimkus of Machesney Park.
Braylon, 8, attends Marquette Elementary School in the Harlem School District. Braylon's mom, Rachel Rimkus, would like him to attend the Cathedral of St. Peter School in Rockford.
Braylon was baptized at the church, and the school there is where Rimkus and her siblings went to school. It's a pre-K through eighth-grade school that feeds into Boylan Catholic High School, where Rimkus also attended and where Braylon already is asking if he can go.
"I waitress so I make money, but not enough to send him to private school," Rimkus said. "The way I see it — I think the education is better there."
"I enjoyed it when I was there," she said. "There was more one-on-one time with the teachers. I just think it would be better for him than the public schools, and I'd like him to go to a Catholic school."
Read: Invest in Kids frequently asked questions
Long time comingState lawmakers created the program, called Invest in Kids, last fall.
The program allows for private and corporation donations of up to $100 million. The donated money will fund private school scholarships for families in financial need. In return, donors will receive an income tax credit worth 75 percent of their donations.
If Invest in Kids is fully funded, an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 private school scholarships will be awarded. At the same time, public schools across the state stand to lose anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 students and the per-pupil funding from the state that goes with them.
Champions of Invest in Kids are quick to point out that the $75 million in tax credits pale when compared with the state's $11 billion annual budget for K-12 public education.
"This is a good thing, but it’s not a windfall," said Don Gillingham, executive director of Rockford Lutheran School. "It's a victory for that family that was struggling to pay $5,000, and now they don't have to pay $5,000. I'm happy for that.
"Perhaps the most significant thing is that for the first time since 1888 when St. Paul's opened as the first Lutheran school in Rockford, the state of Illinois is saying what you are doing is important, and we should help. ... It's a long time coming."
Public school advocates are less supportive of the funding shift.
"Community members should have no doubt about the fact that tax credits are a form of public spending," said Paul Goddard, vice president of the Rockford Education Association, the union that represents about 2,000 public school educators in Rockford. "What troubles me is that we have public funds escaping accountability of elected officials.
"People get to elect their school board members. That means something. School board members pay a great deal of attention to what their constituents believe and a community's priorities. When public funds are removed from accountability to elected officials, that connection is lost."
Read: How to apply
Transparency concernsState Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, has fought for school choice since he was first elected to the General Assembly in 2010.
"I'm excited to see how it will work," Sosnowski said of the program. Sosnowski also works as director of institutional advancement for Rockford Christian Schools.
"This will finally allow families to utilize state resources for schools of their choice," he said. "There are a significant amount of families that it could help."
There are about 2,700 students attending Catholic schools in Winnebago and Boone counties.
Beth Heitkamp, assistant superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Rockford, said she expects "hundreds" of families to apply for scholarships this month.
"The bill is to get kids a better education and give them a choice," she said. "The theory is their parents know what’s best for them, but they’re stuck. ... They cannot afford a private school education, and our financial aid can only go so far."
Public schools are required to serve all students, Rockford Superintendent Ehren Jarrett said. That includes special education students, students with socio-economic needs and those who can't speak English.
Private schools are not bound by law to serve all students, Jarrett said, which raises concerns about the kinds of students private schools are recruiting for these scholarships.
"My experience with school choice is that some of the neediest students do not receive good coaching and access to take advantage of the opportunity or are unable to take advantage of the opportunity," Jarrett said. He said he hopes private schools choose students who are "a true, representative sample of the students we serve in the community in terms of race and social and economic status and special needs."
"With these dollars come responsibilities," Jarrett said. "When you take public dollars, I think there’s a transparency that we as taxpayers have to carefully monitor."
Eyes on RockfordAs Invest in Kids rolls out across Illinois, backers and detractors concede that most eyes will be on Chicago — where most students reside and most dollars have been raised.
Rockford will be second on many people's list of places to watch.
Rockford is just the kind of place where Invest in Kids could have a significant impact, said Myles Mendoza, director of Empower Illinois, one of several scholarship-granting organizations that is working with private schools to register potential scholarship recipients and working with the state to dole out funds.
Rockford has a large population of low-income students and several underperforming public schools. According to the Illinois Report Card, a little more than half of the 28,300 students attending Rockford Public Schools are considered low-income.
While some scholarship-granting organizations will start accepting applications from families this week, Empower will begin accepting applications Jan. 31. The goal is to do more outreach and resolve issues involving private school participation in the program.
"We want to serve the kids who are not being served currently," Mendoza said. "We need every last second we can to do everything we can to reach those parents."
While Mendoza called the passage of the Invest in Kids Act "a true bipartisan victory" for Illinois, state Rep. Litesa Wallace, D-Rockford, has been steadfast in her opposition. Wallace believes the program, an eleventh-hour measure included in the state's final budget bill last fall, provides tax relief for the wealthy and, according to Wallace, does not have a track record of success in other states.
"By creating this $75 million tax shelter for the wealthiest, the state sent a message that we will not do something fair and equitable for the students of Illinois without doing something for the very rich," Wallace said. "And they're trying to do it under the guise of helping low-income students and students of color."
Wallace, who is running for lieutenant governor with gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss, said the program will be repealed if she is elected.
"This is not a program that is going to help the students of my district," she said, "and it doesn't work for the better good of low-income students across Illinois, either."
Corina Curry: 815-987-1371; ccurry@rrstar.com; @corinacurry