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SHOREWOOD – School districts in the 49th District are set to receive $127 million in additional funding to help address the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood) announced Wednesday.

“Over the course of the last year, teachers, students, and parents have gracefully made the best of an impossible situation. Every single one of them deserves a tremendous amount of credit for their perseverance,” Loughran Cappel said. “This funding will allow us to address difficulties that plagued our school districts last year and effectively plan for the future.”

The funding comes as part of the most recent federal COVID-19 relief packages. 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:

  • Joliet Public School District 86 - $42,595,457
  • Oswego Community Unit School District 308 - $10,768,168
  • Troy Community Consolidated School District 30C - $4,304,161
  • Richland School District 88A - $1,701,605
  • Plainfield School District 202 - $21,456,858
  • Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 - $12,261,096
  • Valley View Community Unit School District 365U - $34,857,485

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.

“To the teachers, para educators, social workers, coaches, and everyone else who made the school year possible: thank you,” Loughran Cappel said. “We owe you a debt of gratitude and look forward to a hopefully seamless 2021-2022 school year.”

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