Bolingbrook, Romeoville Schools To Get Nearly $40 million In Aid

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Two school districts that serve Bolingbrook and Romeoville will receive a combined total of nearly $40 million in additional funding this year, mostly via the American Rescue Plan.

The funding was allotted by the recent federal pandemic relief package. Schools must use at least 20 percent of the funds to offset learning loss costs.

The remainder can be used as the school sees fit, including to support remote learning, digital connections, staff retention and to develop new processes to receive state and federal aid, State Senator John Connor said in a news release.

"Teachers and students both have worked incredibly hard to adapt to new methods of learning over the past year," Connor said in a statement. "I know that this extra funding will give them the resources they need to continue moving forward."

Local school districts will receive the following amounts:

• Valley View Community Unit School District 365U — $34,857,485
• Woodridge School District 68 — $4,049,782

All told, Illinois educational agencies received nearly $7 billion to support its schools.

"This pandemic has taken an extraordinary toll on students, parents, educators, and schools, and we know that our schools, students, and communities need help now to reopen safely and quickly, and to stay open," Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

"These funds from the American Rescue Plan and the extraordinary steps the Department is taking to get these resources to states quickly will allow schools to invest in mitigation strategies to get students back in the classroom and stay there, and address the many impacts this pandemic has had on students—especially those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic," Cardona said.