Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias – who doubles as the state librarian – announced funding to public school libraries around the state, and Franklin Park area school leaders plan to use the money to further literacy efforts and programs.
In total, Giannoulias’s office awarded more than $1.4 million in grants, which is expected to benefit 2,713 school libraries throughout Illinois and 1.2 million students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to a secretary of state office news release announcing the grants.
“It’s imperative that all Illinois students have access to necessary resources including reading materials and learning services at our public school libraries,” Giannoulias stated in the release. “School libraries serve as places of learning and discovery. These funds will ensure that our libraries are well-equipped to educate and inspire our future generations.”
Franklin Park School District 84 leaders plan to apply the $1,056 grant the district received to reading material and other essential resources.
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“We strive to provide all of our students with a steady stream of high-interest reading materials,” Superintendent David Katzin told Pioneer Press. “While the grant represents a small percentage of the funds we allocate for this purpose, it nonetheless demonstrates that decision-makers at the state level share our commitment to improving literacy and promoting a love of reading.”
According to the secretary of state office’s news release, based on a statutory formula, school districts receive $0.885 per student for their enrollment at each school that has a qualified library. The money for the program comes from the state’s General Reserve Fund and is appropriated for this purpose by the Illinois General Assembly, the release explains.
Other nearby school districts that received grant money include Elmwood Park Community Unit District 401. The district, with its four schools – including Elmwood Park High School – enrolls some 2,800 students. SD401 received $2,413.
Leyden Community High School District 212, which has nearly 3,500 students at its two high schools – Leyden East and Leyden West – was awarded $3,093. Mannheim School District 83, with its 2,380 students enrolled in pre-K to eighth grade across five schools, got a $1,934 grant, according to Giannoulias’s office.
A complete list of the school libraries that received funding is available online.
Kaitlin Mikrut is a freelancer.