Federal stimulus funds called a ‘huge deal’ for Lisbon Grade School District

As large school districts in Kendall County get multi-million dollar windfalls from the recent federal stimulus - what does the new round of funding mean for area rural districts?

In Lisbon Grade School District 90, a K-8 district with about 100 students, the $17,000 it is set to receive from the stimulus is a “huge deal,” according to Superintendent Melanie Elias.

“$17,000 is substantial considering the other stimulus money that was given to schools - for us anyway it was much less,” Elias said. In the previous two stimulus packages, the district was allocated about $9,700, most of which the district has yet to receive.

“This is substantial amount compared to the first and the second,” Elias said. “It tends to be a huge deal considering most of our money comes from our local taxpayers so it will definitely be beneficial.”

Lisbon’s top school official said the stimulus funds will go toward improving technology in the district. The district spent previous funds on purchasing Chromebooks for students, though the shipment of those has been delayed as well. Funds also went towards providing portable WiFi hot spots to students who had to quarantine after exposure or infection from COVID-19.

As for the travails of remote learning, the rural district has basically side-stepped the question, offering in-person instruction nonstop since August. Apart from masks and a few families opting for remote learning the first quarter of this school year, Elias said her district has seen little of the learning loss plaguing so many area school districts.

“I would say that our kids are on track as closely as possible to where they’ve been in years past because we’ve been in person,” she said. “We are not planning on offering any summer programs just because I feel like since we’ve been in-person that is not necessary... I have amazing staff that has been working hard at making sure that we can be in school with the students teaching in-person.”