BUFFALO GROVE – State Senator Adriane Johnson is announcing that school districts in the 30th District will receive an estimated $92,629,180 in additional funding to help address the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

pexels photo 1181398“When the pandemic put a pause on classroom learning, our teachers stepped up and put in countless hours of additional planning to keep students engaged remotely,” Johnson said. “This much-deserved funding will give teachers and schools the support they need to fully return to in-person lessons safely.”

The funding comes as part of the most recent federal COVID-19 relief package. Schools, students and parents have overcome challenges that no one could have imagined before the pandemic began, including remote and hybrid learning, digital connection issues, new processes for receiving state and federal aid that normally flow through schools, and more.

Local school districts are set to receive the following amounts:
• Gurnee SD 56 - $2,824,532
• Waukegan CUSD 60 - $62,698,166
• Rondout SD 72 - $80,624
• Hawthorn CCSD 73 - $3,104,257
• Mundelein ESD 75 - $1,949,968
• Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 - $939,787
• Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102 - $880,057
• Lincolnshire-Prairieview SD 103 - $286,406
• Mundelein Cons HSD 120 - $2,176,106
• Adlai E Stevenson HSD 125 - $1,029,293
• CHSD 128 - $740,601
• North Chicago SD 187 - $15,919,383

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.

The State Board of Education, in collaboration with other state agencies that address education, has produced a guide for local school districts to help them decide how to best use their resources. While the guide and other state-sponsored services are completely voluntary, the state aims to support local districts during this difficult time.

“Our local schools know their staff and students’ needs best,” Johnson said. “The state-produced guide can help each school decide how to use their funding most effectively.”

In total, Illinois received nearly $7 billion to support local school districts.