District 300 gets fast growth grant

Congratulations! The state of Illinois has selected your school district as the winner of a $720,000 grand prize.*

That's the message Community Unit District 300 received from the state last week - asterisk included.

The asterisk is that District 300 probably won't get its hands on the money anytime soon because the state is at least 12 weeks behind on paying its bills.

"We got the money, but we didn't get the cash yet," District 300 Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates said.

The money is part of the state's fast-growth grant program, which awards money to school districts with rising enrollment. The state awarded $7.5 million to 36 districts across the state this year but can't distribute the money right now because of a state budget crunch.

"The state is feeling the same economic downturn just like businesses are," said Mary Fergus, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education. "The comptroller is behind."

The fast-growth grant is part of $4 billion in bills and payments the state is behind on, according to state Comptroller Daniel Hynes. Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced last week a plan to borrow $1.4 billion to make payments to schools, health care providers and others who've been waiting months to be reimbursed by the state. That plan, which does not need lawmakers' approval, could be completed within weeks.

District 300's enrollment grew by about 400 students last year. That's only about a 2 percent increase, but because District 300 has more than 10,000 students, its enrollment only needs to grow by at least 1.5 percent to qualify for the grant.

The threshold is much higher for districts with fewer than 10,000 students, as neighboring Huntley Unit District 158 learned this year.

District 158, which received a grant last year, was not on the list of recipients this year. District 158 grew by about 480 students last year, or about 6 percent, falling short of the 7.5-percent threshold.

The fact that District 158 will not get a fast growth grant this year means two things: The housing downturn has put the brakes on the district's former double-digit growth, and the district will not receive about $500,000.

"It factored into teacher negotiations," District 158 school board Vice President Tony Quagliano said. "It basically eliminated our ability to budget a surplus."

The development was expected in both District 158 and District 300, where the grant - if the district receives it - will go toward general educational expenses.