Suburban superintendents watching Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Because of Gov. Pat Quinn's budget cuts, Kane County Regional Superintendent Doug Johnson has been working without a salary since July.

“Obviously, the stress upon myself and my assistant and our families has been significant,” he says.

Lawmakers next week could begin discussions of how — or if — to tackle Quinn's cuts of Regional Offices of Education, a move that has had local regional superintendents wondering what happens next if the governor's cuts aren't reversed somehow.

In DuPage, county officials have borrowed money to cover Regional Superintendent Darlene Ruscitti and her staff through November.

What happens after that?

“I don't know,” Ruscitti says.

Earlier this year, Quinn cut funding for the regional offices, saying the jobs should be paid for via local taxes, not by the state.

That's left suburban offices in limbo as they keep up with their daily services — doing school safety inspections, for example — without knowing the future of their funding.

Lawmakers could either reverse Quinn's cuts at a time when the state budget is tight. Or, a plan has emerged to divert some money from local businesses taxes to pay for the offices.

A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan said there seems to be growing support for the local option.

“I think there's a lot of interest, Brown said.

Lawmakers return to Springfield next week and could address the issue then.

If they don't, Johnson said changes will have to be made.

“You can't expect people to keep working forever for free,” he said.

But Johnson said he's not threatening to step down.

“We don't operate on making threats,” he said.

Ruscitti said she's not yet worried about her office eventually having to shut down, but morale is low.

“It's not to that point,” she said. “But I am worried about losing good people.”

Both Johnson and Ruscitti are planning to be in Springfield Monday for a previously planned meeting.