(a) The State Board of Education is authorized to make grants to school districts and special education cooperatives established by school districts, without regard to enrollment, for school maintenance projects. These grants shall be paid out of moneys appropriated for that purpose from the School Infrastructure Fund. No grant under this Section for one fiscal year shall exceed $50,000, but a school district or special education cooperative may receive grants for more than one project during one fiscal year. A school district or special education cooperative must provide local matching funds in an amount equal to the amount of the grant under this Section. A school district or special education cooperative has no entitlement to a grant under this Section.
     (b) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to implement this Section. These rules need not be the same as the rules for school construction project grants or debt service grants.

Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 105 ILCS 230/5-100

  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • School construction project: means the acquisition, development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, architectural planning, and installation of capital facilities consisting of buildings, structures, durable equipment, and land for educational purposes. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 105 ILCS 230/5-5
  • School district: includes a cooperative high school, if the cooperative agreement includes language that specifies how the debt obligation is to be paid, including if an entity withdraws from the cooperative agreement or the cooperative agreement is terminated. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 105 ILCS 230/5-5
  • School maintenance project: means a project, other than a school construction project, intended to provide for the maintenance or upkeep of buildings or structures for educational purposes, but does not include ongoing operational costs. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 105 ILCS 230/5-5
  • State: when applied to different parts of the United States, may be construed to include the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" may be construed to include the said district and territories. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.14

     The rules may specify: (1) the manner of applying for grants; (2) project eligibility requirements; (3) restrictions on the use of grant moneys; (4) the manner in which school districts and special education cooperatives must account for the use of grant moneys; and (5) any other provision that the State Board determines to be necessary or useful for the administration of this Section.
     The rules shall specify the methods and standards to be used by the State Board to prioritize applications. School maintenance projects shall be prioritized in the following order:
         (i) emergency projects;
         (ii) health/life safety projects;
         (iii) State Program priority projects;
         (iv) permanent improvement projects; and
         (v) other projects.
     (c) In each school year in which school maintenance project grants are awarded, 20% of the total amount awarded shall be awarded to a school district with a population of more than 500,000, provided that the school district complies with the requirements of this Section and the rules adopted under this Section.