Three state legislators will discuss the state of education funding with the DeKalb County Farm Bureau and area educational leaders today.

At the forum entitled “The Education Crisis in Illinois,” Rep. John Countryman, R-DeKalb, Rep. John Maitland, R-Normal and Rep. Patrick Welch, D-Peru, will give brief presentations which will be followed by a question and answer session, Brad Burzynski, farm bureau representative, said.

“They (farm bureau members) want us to talk about the prospects for new revenues for education,” Welch said. He said the legislators also will discuss what alternatives might be used to fund education if an income tax increase is not passed.

Welch said the prospect for a tax increase “doesn’t look too good.” However, he said alternative sources for funding or an increase might be possible if “people get behind it.” He said people are mistakenly considering an income tax increase as the only choice for funding.

The forum will cover all levels of education from elementary to higher education, Welch said.

Burzynski said in addition to the farm bureau members, DeKalb school board members, local school administrators and school union representatives will provide their input to the legislators.

“We will be asking the legislators how we (Illinois citizens) can get them to make a change,” Burzynski said. He said the farm bureau will outline and discuss its “six-plank platform” for making changes in education and education funding.

Some points of the platform include support of a tax increase for education funding, support of some property tax reduction and opposition to state mandates which are not fully funded, Burzynski said.

Welch said Maitland will discuss the details of the state mandates with the bureau and others in attendance.

In addition, the platform includes equitably revising state aid for education and increasing state funding in line with the education reform act of 1985, Burzynski said.