Secretary of State Jesse White announced today that $1.2 million in FY 2020 School District Library Grant Program awards to 684 public school districts. More than 1.5 million Illinois students served by school library programs will benefit from the grants.
Locally, 20 school districts will be receiving at least the minimum grant amount of $750 to their school district’s libraries. Jacksonville School District 117 will earn the most money from the grant, with a $2334 total followed by Beardstown with $1039. White said that Illinois was the first state to implement a school district library grant program.
From FY 2020 appropriations approved by the General Assembly and the governor, school library grants were awarded based on a formula of $.75 per student. School libraries can use the funds to acquire fiction and/or nonfiction books, educational CDs and DVDs, and library subscriptions to electronic resources, as well as to improve technology by purchasing new computers or improving Wi-Fi connectivity.