The Regional Office of Education (ROE) representative told the committee on Oct. 20 that schools across the region are now eligible to apply for a $50,000 school maintenance grant that requires a $50,000 local match.

The ROE representative said the agency will encourage districts to apply for a variety of maintenance projects and noted that many districts depend on federal dollars; some districts have up to 20% of their funding from federal sources. She also recommended county officials watch the fall veto session and spring budget discussions in Springfield for education funding implications.

The ROE reported that Illinois school report cards will be released Oct. 30 and can be viewed at the state site (as reported in the meeting, elmoyreportcard.org). The ROE also recapped a county institute day held Oct. 10 that drew more than 1,200 educators; sessions included a keynote from Alex Cajitani, a California teacher of the year, roundtables for school resource officers, and programming on computer science and AI in the classroom.

The ROE representative said the office will continue to offer professional development and will share details about report cards and grant application opportunities with local districts.

The committee approved the school services report during the meeting; the motion was seconded and carried.