The Illinois State Board of Education released preliminary numbers on the allocations school districts will be receiving under the COVID-19 relief bill. According to the report, school districts in Illinois will be receiving over $512 million in relief from the CARES Act. Final allocations won’t be determined until an award is issued by the U.S. Department of Education. The preliminary estimates are only being provided to allow school district officials the ability to plan for how to best use the money for stabilizing a school district’s budget.
According to the report, Jacksonville School District 117 about $976,000 to stabilize their budget. Franklin, Meredosia, Waverly, and Triopia will in total received just over $275,000. Beardstown Unit District 15 is scheduled to receive just under $322,000 in relief and is receiving one the largest allocations of any school in the area. The remaining two Cass County School Districts will receive a combined $94,000 by comparison. Beardstown is behind North Greene Unit District 3 in Greene County who is estimated to get a little over $345,000, which is the highest allocation of any school district in the 4 county region. Carrollton and Greenfield will combine to receive about $178,000 by comparison. Brown County schools will be getting just over $117,000. Scott County schools will get about $144,000 according to the report. North Mac in Macoupin County is also estimated to received a large reward at just under $336,000.
The funding is based on the school’s receipt of federal Title-I funds. The stabilization funds from the CARES Act are to add flexibility to budgeting so schools can plan for the long-term school closure and to purchase technology to support online learning, and provide additional unnamed support for the district based on infrastructure needs. The final award letter from the U.S. Department of Education has no set timetable yet, but is expected to come within the next two months. Part of the announcement by ISBE can be found here. The spreadsheet for the funding can be found under the “Funding” header on this link.