Senator Belt

EAST ST. LOUIS – State Senator Christopher Belt announced that 24 school districts across the Metro East will receive over $6 million in evidence-based funding, in addition to the base funding that the state provides.

“Investing in our public schools means investing in the future of Metro East students,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “This evidence-based funding gives our local school districts the resources they need to deliver quality education our communities expect and deserve.”

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 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.

School districts across the Metro East set to receive funding through the formula include:

  • Belle Valley School District 119: $113,836
  • Belleville School District 118: $345,546
  • Belleville Township High School District 201: $2,248,945
  • Brooklyn Unit School District 188: $3,533
  • Cahokia Unit School District 187: $286,064
  • Dupo School District 196: $75,023
  • East St. Louis School District 189: $4,606
  • Freeburg Community Consolidated School District 70: $35,345
  • Freeburg Community High School District 77: $135,747
  • Grant School District 110: $53,226
  • Harmony-Emge School District 175: $50,946
  • High Mount School District 116: $17,093
  • Lebanon School District 9: $9,179
  • Mascoutah School District 19: $1,685,230
  • Millstadt School District 160: $11,315
  • New Athens School District 60: $86,070
  • O'Fallon School District 90: $383,712
  • O'Fallon Township High School District 203: $559,026
  • Clair County Regional Office of Education: $16,123
  • Shiloh Village School District 85: $40,047
  • Signal Hill School District 181: $19,434
  • Smithton School District 130: $33,590
  • Whiteside School District 115: $61,883
  • Wolf Branch School District 113: $101,127

The Fiscal Year 2026 budget invested $300 million in new funding into students’ success through the evidence-based funding model.

For more information on the FY 26 evidence-based funding distribution, visit the Illinois State Board of Education’s website.