Governor Bruce Rauner came into office as a big advocate of charters schools. He promoted the idea again this week during a Facebook live forum, when he seemed to tie school choice to the state budget.
“Parents want and deserve options, and we’ve got to make sure as we change our funding formula, that options are on the table and we create the financial ability for low-income parents in particular who can’t afford to move or can’t afford private school tuition, we make sure they’ve got the financial ability to choose the school that best fits their son or daughter," he said in the internet chat.
Rauner went on to say that he hoped to get it done this winter, as part of budget negotiations.
But Wednesday, his education secretary Beth Purvis said that while the governor does support charter schools, he wasn’t tying that issue to the budget. Illinois is currently running on a partial, six month-spending plan.