An amendment, lowering the appropriation Peoria County gives to the Regional Office of Education was the only point of contention in passing a balanced 2012 budget. The County Board voted 17-1 to approved next year's $134.6 million dollar financial guide. But, the board vote 11-7 to remove about $35,000 dollars from the $300,000 dollar ROE funding.
The move was really a statement to the state of Illinois, in protest of mandating local taxing bodies to cover the costs of ROEs. In July, Govern Pat Quinn suspended pay for Regional Superintendents, saying the state could no longer afford it. During the fall veto session, pay was reinstated, but compensation would be taken out of money given back to local governments from state taxes. Money will be withheld from Personal Property Reimbursement Taxes, specifically.
Board member Andrew Rand says he supported the reduced ROE appropriation, only because it's not a huge amount of money lost. Rand says the money the county is backing out on only repressents .024 of a percent of the $10 million dollar ROE budget.Several board members stated for the record, this move is a a protest over random state mandates, and not necessarily a statement on the function of the ROE.
