It was discovered in April that grants for Project Success programs around the state were in trouble for the 2023-24 school year due to an overspending error by the Illinois State Board of Education.
School Districts affected in Vermilion County included Westville, Oakwood, and Georgetown-Ridge Farm.
But Georgetown-Ridge Farm superintendent Jean Neal has shared some good news with Neuhoff Media that Project Success after school programs in their district are all set for the coming year. Neal says the high school funding was good for one more year; but at Pine Crest Elementary and Mary Miller Junior High, it was not; until the district decided, “This is important, let’s get creative.”
AUDIO: We restructured some grants. These were grants that we received from COVID relief grants and from a community partnership grant. So, we allocated about $141,000 to maintain programing at Pine Crest Elementary and Mary Miller Junior High.
Neal says, the district knows how valuable these after school programs are, along with the district personnel who step up to work them.
AUDIO: Project Success really helps us to close achievement gaps around the impact from the pandemic. There is a mix of individuals that Project Success hires, but the majority of them are actually our classroom teachers and support staff.
And all will now be in place for when the Georgetown-Ridge Farm District students return to class on August 16th.
