Local News

Local Schools Getting Covid Relief

Sat, 03 Apr 2021 09:35:16 CDT
Newly installed State Senator Doris Turner is passing along good news for local schools. The Springfield Democrat has announced that school districts in Mid Illinois will receive nearly $125 million from federal CoVid relief funds. Turner is encouraging local districts to use the funding to help the most at-risk students. She believes that will bring better overall student outcomes, including higher test scores and increased graduation rates.”
Local schools are set to receive the following amounts:

•             Hillsboro CUSD 3- $4,608,564
•             Litchfield CUSD 12- $4,899,443
•             Nokomis CUSD 22- $3,533,859
•             Panhandle CUSD 2- $1,366,902
•             Carlinville CUSD 1- $41,58,572
•             Mount Olive CUSD 5- $1,124,611
•             Staunton CUSD 6- $1,831,770
•             Gillespie CUSD 7- $5,014,711
•             Bunker Hill CUSD 8- $1,279,813
•             Southwestern CUSD 9- $2,386,027
•             North Mac CUSD 34- $4,273,024
•             Morrisonville CUSD 1- $438,516
•             Pana CUSD 8- $4,976,666
•             Taylorville CUSD 3- 6,435,198
•             Edinburg CUSD 4- $673,771
•             South Fork SD 14- $995,486
•             Central A & M CUD 21- $1,769,680
•             Rochester CUSD 3A- $1,542,201
The majority of the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan, which gives local schools a great deal of flexibility in how they can use the money over the next 3 ½ years. At least 20% of the funding must be used to address learning loss, but beyond that, school districts can use the money to address many different issues and costs. For example, it can be used to better equip schools for safe learning, to prevent layoffs, to address students’ social and emotional needs, to fund summer programs, or to ensure all students have access to reliable Wi-Fi and technology.