SPRINGFIELD  —  Local school officials, who now find themselves the target of Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget cuts, say the governor may be passing up millions of dollars if he eliminates their offices.

Regional superintendents from across the state came to the Illinois Capitol on Thursday to plead their case against the cuts.  The governor’s proposed budget would eliminate regional offices of education, which Quinn said would save $13 million a year and cut through a layer of bureaucracy.

But Janet Ulrich, a regional superintendent who overseas 19 school districts in southern Illinois, said regional education offices last year handled more than $100 million in federal education money.  If the governor cuts the local office, Ulrich said, that federal money may disappear.

“The state is trying to save money, no doubt. … But the services that the regional offices provide well exceed what can be done in the state (without them),”  said Ulrich.

Quinn’s budget office said nothing is final, and added that lawmakers have until May to craft a final budget.

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