By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – According to a Republican candidate for Illinois governor, schools in the state can succeed without spending big.

Ted Dabrowski said two Clinton County school districts, Aviston and Bartelso, had the highest reading levels in the state in 2019.

“And here’s the amazing thing: Aviston and Bartelso only spent $8,000 a year in 2019, the very lowest in the state,” Dabrowski said.

Illinois taxpayers pay about $19,000 per student statewide.

Dabrowski said he traveled to Clinton County to talk with teachers, administrators and parents.

“And what I found was a culture of high expectations, parental engagement, a community of faith. The people there said, ‘We’re competitive. We like to win,’” Dabrowski said.

Dabrowski said that if the state could harness a fraction of the energy in Aviston and Bartelso, it would transform education in Illinois.

While students in his district led the state in reading proficiency, state Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, said kids elsewhere in Illinois are failing under the leadership of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Plummer said he is proud that Clinton County is in his district.

“But we’re spending a fraction of the dollars in Clinton County that we spend in Chicago or we spend statewide, and kids are graduating. They can read. They can write,” Plummer said.

Plummer said Clinton County students have the tools, the skills and the knowledge needed to be productive members of the state.

“And I’m sad to say not enough kids in Illinois have that opportunity. That is at the feet of J.B. Pritzker and his allies,” Plummer said.

Pritzker said his administration has increased its commitment to students by more than $2.8 billion, a 33% increase in school funding by state taxpayers. The state’s education budget for the 2025-26 school year is a record-high $11.2 billion.

According to the National Assessment of Education al Progress, only 30% of Illinois’ fourth graders met or exceeded reading proficiency standards.

The Chicago Public Schools system spends about $20,000 per student annually.

Douglass Academy High School on Chicago’s West Side spent more than $93,000 per student last school year. Douglass had about 35 students enrolled and a chronic absenteeism rate of 62%. No students at Douglass met proficiency standards in reading.

Two specialized Chicago Public Schools, Safe Achieve Academy and Simpson Academy High School for Young Women, spent more than $100,000 per student last year.