Governor Rauner vetoed HB768, a bill to weaken the state charter commission, last week. HB768 would stop the IL State Charter Commission from overruling local board decisions on opening and closing charter schools, funded with local tax dollars. The IL House will vote on overriding this veto shortly.

Please call your state representative in the IL House and ask for a YES vote on HB768 to override Rauner's veto.

School districts should not be forced to pay for charter schools that their own school board has previously voted against opening (or for closing). And schools operating under the charter commission get higher per-pupil funding and have no oversight from the local district whose funds they are using. Several of the schools opened via the commission are now under federal investigation or have been asked to close by a judge. Read more about the need for this bill here.

You can find your state representative's name and contact info here. (Make sure it is your state rep, not your US rep!)  When you call, tell the person who answers the phone that you are a constitutent and you are calling to ask your rep to vote YES to override the veto of HB768. (You can find your rep's original vote on this bill here.)

[Image used via Creative Commons]