Monday,the ISBE Finance and Audit Committee recommended the FY10 Budget with the addition of $2.5 Million for Online Resources! The original proposal did not include the funding. During the committee meeting board did direct the staff to include the funding into the budget. After lunch, the board was presented with an amended budget with the Online Resources line item. This was approved for presentation at the plenary session Tuesday where it passed and now will be presented to the General Assembly next month.
A very big thank you to Jane Sharka and Stephanie Stieglitz of ISLMA and Frances Roehm from Skokie Public Library (manager of the Illinois Clicks! web portal and a member of Lt Gov Quinn’s Broadband Taskforce) for their comments during public participation. Although we did not rehearse or plan what each of us was going to say, together we covered all our talking points very thoroughly.
This was quite a victory for us since this budget contains only a few modest increases over last year’s budget. Our work is only beginning in that it will be difficult to pass new programs due to the economic crisis in the state. Educating the General Assembly about the initiative will be a top priority. I will be approaching ILA and others to be partners in getting the word out to the legislators in regards to the value of funding online resources.
Lou Ann Jacobs
ISLMA Legislative Advocate
