Tuesday Tidbit 10/1

Are there other funding sources that could be used to pay for a new school?

Central 301 regularly applies for and receives funding – such as grants – from multiple outside sources. These funds are used to meet a variety of District needs. However, there is no current funding available to us from private, corporate, state or federal grant sources to build a new school building. At this time, school districts must provide their own funding for such projects.

The District does work with local officials to help ensure development impact fees are established for new housing developments in the District. These fees can help to defray the cost of expanding, modifying or building new infrastructure. Additionally, we have worked with developers to donate land for our schools. For example, the land for Country Trails Elementary School was donated.

However, while these contributions are valuable, they are not sufficient to cover the full cost of new schools and expansions needed to keep pace with our growing student population. The reality is that the demand for educational facilities outpaces what can be funded solely through developer contributions.

We are working with our engineering and construction management teams to monitor for any grants that could become available to help cover costs for individual portions of the project, such as for energy systems. We will continue to look for opportunities to reduce the financial burden on our community while meeting the physical and educational needs of our students.