By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Despite the lack of state funding for Talented and Gifted programs, District 80 has continued serving 127 students.

“In 2002, they dropped the funding at the state levels,” gifted program coordinator Diana Rea said. “It went from $19 million down to zero.”

According to District 80 Superintendent Kevin Settle, when the funding was cut, some schools cut the program as well.

“A lot of schools were forced to drop their gifted program,” Settle said. “Because we kept ours, we’re in a good position to get [funding] if it becomes available.”

Rea presented information on the background of the gifted program from Sally Walker of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children, which District 80 board members said was “enlightening.”

“For over 30 years, until 2003, Illinois was regarded as one of the leading states in serving the needs of gifted and talented children,” Walker reported. “That ended in the 2003 spring legislative session when an end-of-session budget deal eliminated the gifted education article of the school code and folded the gifted education funding into the general state aid, eliminating any financial incentives for school districts to offer special services for gifted children. All wording of gifted in the Illinois School Code and all funding for gifted education was eliminated in 2003. Illinois went from $19 million plus to zero in one swoop of the pen. Local education agencies [districts] are now responsible for all policies and funding relating to gifted education.”

Walker stated that due to the lack of funding, 165,000 children who were identified as gifted and talented were affected.

“Out of the 2.1 million public school students enrolled in 2006-2007, there is no data collected by the state on the number of gifted and talented students identified or served in the state,” Walker continued. “There is no state monitoring or auditing of gifted programs. ISBE does not require professionals teaching in programs for the gifted and talented to have any required course work, certification or endorsement. Data is not collected with regards to personnel preparation for teachers in gifted education. In fact, Illinois has only two universities that offer a master’s degree in gifted education, Northeastern Illinois University and Northwestern University, and none that have a doctoral program in gifted education.”

In 2005, gifted language was restored to the Illinois School Code, but there was no funding until this year.

“There is now $5 million in the state budget. This is not enough money to support services in every district,” Walker said.

Rea said at this time, even keeping the $5 million is in question.

“If it stays, it is expected to be divided to districts based on a competitive grant situation,” Settle said. “But what we think is going to happen is that when the budget goes to the governor, he will use his line item veto to eliminate a lot of this, if not all.”

In District 80, the TAG program works with children in second through eighth grade. Out of the 127 students in the program, 21 percent are ethnic, with 57 boys and 68 girls. Rea reported the students are excelling in competitions and receiving recognition from not only the local area, but state as well.

There were six teams comprised of 24 students who attended the Team Quest district level competition for Hamilton and Jefferson counties schools, and three of those teams qualified for regional level competition for all of Southern Illinois. Two of those teams advanced to the state finals level with the third-/fourth-grade team winning first place at the local level and fifth place at the regional level, as well as being the costume winners at state; and the seventh-/eighth-grade team earned first place at the local level, first at the regional level and third place at state.

The WISH Showcase, another TAG program, had 11 students which participated in the Region 8 Science Fair at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Three of the students qualified for the State Science Fair at the University of Illinois Assembly Hall — all seventh-grade girls. One student was presented a $50 agricultural science award for her project at the regional science fair, and the school was awarded a matching $50. Two students received silver awards at state, and one received a bronze award.