Sangamon Sun

On the 2014-2015 PARCC exam (www.illinoisreportcard.com), students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School scored a passing rate of 40.5 percent and a failure rate of 59.5 percent. Passing the PARCC exam reflects the percentage of students who "met expectations" or "exceeded expectations." In Illinois overall, 32.9 percent of students passed the PARCC exam.

Per-pupil spending at Benjamin Franklin Middle School is $12,704. The average spending in the state is $12,521. Benjamin Franklin Middle School is part of the Springfield SD 186 school district. 59.6 percent of Springfield SD 186's spending is supported by local funding. For the average school district in Illinois, 66 percent of per-pupil spending is supported with local funds.

Chicago Public Schools is seeking a bailout of its district from Illinois taxpayers. Students in Chicago Public Schools scored a passing rate of 25 percent on the PARCC exam. Per-pupil spending in Chicago is $15,120, with 49 percent of this amount coming from local funding sources. Chicago is seeking to expand per-pupil funding by 25 percent. Under this plan, all of the increase would be paid for by Illinois taxpayers. This would bring the total funding to $18,900. Illinois taxpayers would provide approximately 61 percent of this higher funding level.