EBFPEORIA – Following financial challenges in recent years, State Senator Dave Koehler announced that 18 school districts across the area will receive nearly $8 million in additional funding to make needed improvements to classrooms and schools.

“Without proper investment in schools, from poor wages for teachers, a lack of modern technology or textbooks, and access to basic supplies like notebooks and pens, students aren’t able to learn to the best of their ability,” said Koehler (D-Peoria). “Investing properly in our schools is necessary to set all Illinoisans up for success in their future, and I am proud that the evidence-based funding model has continued to take steps to more equitable outcomes in education.”

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:

  • Peoria School District 150: $4,553,535
  • McLean County Unit District 5: $1,732,448
  • Alternative Learning Opportunities Programs (DeWitt, Livingston and McLean County Regional Office of Education): $242,646
  • Bloomington School District 87: $240,634
  • Regional Safe Schools (Peoria County Regional Office of Education): $26,324
  • Pleasant Valley School District 62: $134,010
  • Bartonville School District 66: $3,588
  • Oak Grove School District 68: $11,115
  • Pleasant Hill School District 69: $6,638
  • Monroe School District 70: $58,335
  • Limestone Community High School District 310: $17,549
  • Peoria Heights Community Unit School District 325: $58,229
  • District 50 Schools: $56,782
  • Robein School District 85: $12,499
  • East Peoria School District 86: $1,170
  • East Peoria Community High School District 309: $18,433
  • Illinois State University Lab Schools: $731,192
  • Regional Safe Schools (DeWitt, Livingston and McLean County Regional Office of Education): $24.76

The Fiscal Year 2025 budget invested $350 million in new funding into students’ success through the evidence-based funding model.

For more information on the FY 25 evidence-based funding distribution, visit the Illinois State Board of Education’s website.