School-StudentsCHICAGO – Advocating for students and funding for schools, State Senator Javier Cervantes announced seven local school districts will receive more than $4.5 million in additional funding to help schools with financial challenges in recent years.

“Our schools need our help and with the evidence-based funding formula we are ensuring educational opportunities are available for all students,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “Illinois students deserve the best, and we are going to continue to make our schools a priority and ensure the funding is there for those who need it.”

The funding comes from the 2017 Illinois Senate Democrat-backed evidence-based funding formula — an overhaul of the way the state funds K-12 education. The law made school funding more equitable by calculating the needs of individual school districts and basing its state revenue on those needs. The formula takes into account a district’s total enrollment, poverty rate and number of special education or English language learners, among other factors.

Local schools set to receive funding through the formula include:

  • Brookfield-LaGrange Park School District 95: $877,655
  • Riverside School District 96: $1,419
  • Cicero School District 99: $986,847
  • Berwyn South School District 100: $460,119
  • Lyons School District 103: $106,047
  • Sterling Morton High School District 201: $2,154,390
  • Central Stickney School District 110: $344

The Fiscal Year 2024 budget invested $350 million in new funding into students’ success through the evidence-based funding model.

For more information on the FY 24 evidence-based funding distribution, visit the Illinois State Board of Education’s website.

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