Private schools in McLean County have yet to see whether President Trump’s executive order directing federal money toward expanding school choice programs will increase access to private schools.
School choice allows families to pick education options outside of public schools. Illinois had a school choice program — Invest in Kids — that started in 2017. State legislature let it expire at the end of 2023.
President Donald Trump signed his executive order in January, directing the Department of Education to prioritize school choice programs through its discretionary grants. By the end of March, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon will issue guidance to states on how to utilize this funding.
Central Catholic High School
School President Sean Foster said it is still too early to know how this executive order will affect Central Catholic.
Foster said despite losing the Invest in Kids program, the school continues to increase its enrollment numbers. This year, 318 students are enrolled at Central Catholic, and enrollment is expected to rise to about 360 students next school year, and then to 400 the year after that.
“Because of the strategic plans that we've been implementing... we've been able to increase our ability to provide scholarships and tuition assistance,” Foster said. “About 50% of our families of the students that are here in the building are receiving needs-based tuition assistance.”
Cornerstone Christian Academy
Beth Sondgeroth, head of school at Cornerstone, said the school is at capacity.
“We need to make more room for more students,” she said. “We may see some growth in interest in our school, and we would love to be prepared for that.”
Sondgeroth said Cornerstone is fundraising for $10 million to pay for building and parking lot expansion, as well as security upgrades. She added the school has engaged with a local architecture firm and will soon move onto blueprints and seek bids.
Sondgeroth said she prefers to think of her school as non-public rather than private.
“Private has sort of this exclusive feel to it, and we are an open enrollment school and have students that represent the full spectrum of the demographics — socioeconomic and ethnic as well as religious,” Sondgeroth said.
Cornerstone is currently funded solely through tuition revenue and voluntary giving.
“Which is pretty unique in the non-public and private school sector," she said. "That includes proportionate share funding and monies that we could be receiving for students that represent over 30 different area school districts. We are not accepting those funds. We're allowing those funds to stay in those public schools."
School Choice Criticism
Although the Illinois Education Association did not make someone available for an interview, the National Education Association [NEA] has heavily criticized the Trump Administration's move.
“Instead of stealing taxpayer money to fund private schools, we should focus on public schools — where 90% of children and 95% of children with disabilities in America attend — not take desperately needed funds away from them,” said NEA President Becky Pringle in a written statement.
“If we are serious about doing what is best for students, let’s reduce class sizes to give our students more one-on-one attention and increase salaries to address the teacher and staff shortages. The bottom line is vouchers have been a catastrophic failure everywhere they have been tried.”
Invest in Kids
Illinois’ Invest in Kids program awarded donor-funded scholarships to low-income students to attend private schools. The program also offered tax credits as an incentive for donors.
Central Catholic High School had 50 students enrolled through the Invest in Kids program before it went away.
“We know that the number one reason why families don't consider us or even think that we're an option is because of financial considerations,” said Foster. “And so we've worked hard over the last several years to break down those barriers.”
Trinity Lutheran did not encourage parents to donate to the Invest in Kids program when it was still active, because of the looming possibility of a program expiration.
“We distribute about like $91,000 this last year, and that has to be real dollars raised, and I didn't want to lose donors and then have to bounce around trying to find if it didn't happen,” said Shawn Hoffman, principal of Trinity Lutheran.
Hoffman said he was sad to see the program expire but he would like to see what the state may do with school choice over the next few years.
“Until we know that's more of a permanent thing, I want to make sure that we have a stable financial environment that our school will continue to develop, regardless of what may happen with or without that tax credit," he said.
Cornerstone Christian Academy did have extra students through the program, but only a handful.
