The Illinois State Board of Education announced they have distributed $30 million in FY22 School Maintenance Grants to over 600 eligible applicants across Illinois, including several in Winnebago and Boone Counties.
State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, shared which local school districts have been awarded a school maintenance grant in the amount of $50,000 each, including:
Rockford School District 205
Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
North Boone Community Unit School District 200
Kinnikinnick Central Consolidated School District 131
Prairie Hill Central Consolidated School District 133
Hononegah Community High School District 207
Rockton School District 140
Harlem Unit School District 122
Durand Community Unit School District 322
“These grants will help our local school districts afford essential upkeep of their buildings and facilities, lessening the pressure to pass these costs on to homeowners in the form of a property tax increase,” Rep. Sosnowski said. “Making grants available to schools for maintenance needs is one way the State of Illinois is helping keep local education dollars in the classroom where they belong.”
The School Maintenance Grant Program is a dollar-for-dollar State matching grant open to school districts, cooperative high schools, vocational centers, and special education cooperatives. Eligible applicants can receive up to $50,000 to put toward completing proposed maintenance projects, including emergency projects and health/life safety projects.
To be eligible for School Maintenance Grants, applicants must be capable of matching any awarded State funds and commit to completing proposed projects within two years of funding dispersal. Funds must be used exclusively for the maintenance or upkeep of educational buildings, but applicants are given the freedom to submit projects that involve multiple types of work for a single building or a single type of improvement for several buildings.
For a complete list of Illinois school districts awarded an FY22 School Maintenance Grant, please visit https://www.isbe.net/Documents/SMPG-Recipients-Fiscal-Year-22-Round-1.pdf.