State representative Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, has launched a petition calling for a study into the allocation of state funding between the Carbondale and Edwardsville campuses.

Stuart announced in press release that she was launching a petition drive calling on the Illinois Board of Higher Education to conduct an independent study into the funding split.

Stuart previously introduced House Resolution 1052 asking the IBHE to conduct the study assessing the funding model and the feasibility of each campus running as their own entity.

See more: SIUE Chancellor pushes back on Board of Trustees vote

“SIUE has been one of the main economic engines that has helped grow this area and the entire Metro East region, and the current system should reflect SIUE’s growth that has resulted in an equal study body population at Edwardsville and Carbondale,” Stuart said in the release.

Stuart said she was launching the petition after the board voted against shifting $5.125 million in state appropriations to the Edwardsville campus in April.

The SIU Board of Trustees failed to agree on a stance in regards to Stuart’s bill.

See more: SIU Board of Trustees votes to oppose system split, no position on funding study 

“I am disappointed that the SIU trustees refuse to back a fair study to determine what the best course of action for the SIU system is moving forward, and it’s why I’m urging the State Board of Higher Education to do its own independent, fair study,” Stuart said in the release. “I’m asking the Metro East community to join me in this fight because of how important SIUE is to our entire region.”

Stuart is also backing measures calling for the split of the two schools into two separate entities with two separate boards of trustees and a measure calling for an equal 50-50 split in state funding.

Staff reporter Brian Munoz can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @BrianMMunoz.

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