BLOOMINGTON -- While federal stimulus money will bring millions of dollars into Illinois schools, it also comes with the reality that in 2011 the state must figure out how to maintain the new, higher level of education.

That's among the topics that Illinois State Board of Education members are grappling with at their annual three-day board retreat at the Parke Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington, which concludes today.

"They (the board members) are concerned about that. I'm concerned about that," said State Superintendent Chris Koch. "It's a significant issue we have to address."

At the same time, it's an opportunity to make changes, he said. The effect of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 could be as important as the Sputnik era was for science, he said.

Board member Vinni M. Hall agreed. "We are on the precipice - either it's going to be something great or something greater," she said.

That said, board members were not under the illusion that the change would be easy. In order to receive competitive funding from the federal monies, they will have to create effective, aggressive and innovative programs, said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State Officers, a national nonpartisan group.

Discussion focused on four central areas of reform: adopting rigorous standards, establishing and using data systems for improvement, increasing teacher effectiveness, and turning around the lowest-performing schools.

Some items including rewarding effective teachers - possibly in a manner different than the current one based on years of service and education -will be controversial, Wilhoit said.