Students First

Website Links

Description

Make public education the #1 priority in Springfield. Education is the underpinning of our quality of life, freedom and the future of our state. Today everyone in Illinois - whether you are retired, have children, run a business or social service agency- relies on a highly educated and productive citizenry. Illinois needs to sharpen its competitive edge. Quality education for every child will help enlarge the states' fiscal pie by nurturing more productive citizens and taxpayers. - - - Education will provide a brighter, more secure future for everyone. We pay now - or we pay later. - - Our failure to produce productive citizens means fewer opportunities for everyone and increasing costs for corrections and social services. Public education reduces crime and costs to society. - - - - SOURCES: 1 Illinois Economic Observatory / Regional Economics Applications Laboratory, University of Illinois (date range Jan. 1990 - Sept. 2004); 2 Project READ; 7 Joint Center for Poverty Research; Children have right-We all benefit Regardless of who they are or where they live, our children have the right to equal, high-quality public education. Guaranteed by the Illinois constitution, a quality education is the key to a child's dreams and also the key to Illinois' viability in the global marketplace. The state has the primary responsibility. Read more... State flunks funding 101-Students and communites lose Not able to rely on the state, schools across Illinois continue making cuts to meet budgets. Now, they're slicing into student learning. These cuts mean children are losing early childhood and at-risk programs, foreign languages, vocation and after-school programs, libraries, full-day kindergarten, teachers, counselors, arts and music, student athletics, extracurricular activities and classroom time. Read more... Tough times-Tough decisions Let's hold Springfield accountable for our tax dollars before we allow them to take more. The $2 billion investment Illinois' school children need is substantial. However, with some $24 billion in discretionary spending in the $53 billion FY2003 state budget, there's room to make public education THE PRIORITY by funding education first, before the special interests. Read more... Put students first The Students First solution to help give our youngsters the opportunity they deserve is a very logical, simple, feasible plan. It acknowledges that our children need a high-quality education, that Illinoisans need jobs and access to opportunity and that our students of today need access to high-quality, productive jobs when they graduate. Read more...

Products & services

Similar companies nearby