Despite Supt. Salary Cut, Regional Education Office Will Continue Operating

Although Gov. Pat Quinn eliminated state money for salaries for regional superintendents of education, the will remain open past this week.

According to the Associated Press, Quinn cut $9.1 million for salaries last week, including $2.2 million from the operations budgets. Even though their salaries have been eliminated, the 44 state superintendents' positions have not.

The regional superintendent's duties include employee background checks and teacher certification. Will County superintendent Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant said that she'll be meeting with county executive Larry Walsh after this week to determine a future for the office and her role.

In a news release, Bertino-Tarrant said the county office will continue to provide services, though there could be a slow-down because state mandates require the supervision of a regional superintendent.

"It is troubling that the state mandates requirements, yet is not willing to provide funding for the mandates, such as transportation costs," she said. "We are the pieces in this political game."

The soonest a change would occur could be October, when legislators could override Quinn's veto of the funding or possibly vote to pay for salaries using personal property replacement tax.

Local school districts will likely be impacted by any changes, but officials aren't certain how yet.

"No one would know that until they decide what they do," said Tom Eddy, deputy superintendent for Lincoln-Way District 210. "It's like if you change a recipe and put something different in, you don't know how it's going to taste right away."