That’s according to new data from the Illinois State Board of Education, which announced Friday the details of how it will distribute $9.3 billion in Evidence-Based Funding dollars for public schools. The new data released today by the Illinois State Board of Education shows the state’s school funding gap grew by more than $1 billion in just a single year, now sitting at nearly $7 billion. Of the state’s 936 school districts and organizational units, 714 moved further from adequate funding this year alone. To try to address the shortfall, school districts have been making painful cuts that directly harm students and their futures. Illinois now owes $6.9 billion to fill the gap in its own school funding formula, a gap that grew by $1 billion in the last year alone.