School Maintenance Project Grant

The School Maintenance Project Grant is administered by the Illinois State Board of Education and provides state matching funds for maintenance and upkeep projects involving buildings or structures used for educational purposes. The program supports eligible Illinois educational entities with facility-related needs while requiring a dollar-for-dollar local contribution. For the Fiscal Year 2027 cycle, applications may be submitted from September 28, 2026, through 4 p.m. on January 29, 2027. The maximum state grant award is $50,000 per grantee. There is no stated limit on the total cost of a project, but the applicant must provide local funds equal to the grant amount requested. Grant funds are exclusively for maintenance or upkeep of buildings or structures for educational purposes. A proposed project may include different types of work on one building or may cover several buildings or structures. Ongoing operational costs are not eligible, including in-house labor associated with School Maintenance Project Grant projects that are not contracted out. Applicants must not begin work on any project included in the application before submitting the application through IWAS. Submission does not guarantee approval or an award. All project activities must be expended or legally obligated within two years after state disbursement. If funds have been obligated but remain unexpended at the end of the two-year period, the grantee receives 90 additional calendar days to liquidate those obligations. Eligible applicants are school districts, cooperative high schools, Type 40 area vocational centers, special education cooperatives established by school districts, Regional Offices of Education, and Intermediate Service Centers. Grantees with outstanding reporting or repayment requirements from the 2023 or 2024 grant cycles are not eligible for a new grant until those requirements have been satisfied. Applicants must obtain local board approval as part of completing the application, although a board resolution is not required. Regional Offices of Education and Intermediate Service Centers must also apply through IWAS for this grant cycle. Applications must be completed and submitted through the School Maintenance Project Grants system accessed through IWAS. After submission, review and approval by the regional superintendent is expected within two weeks, followed by review and approval by the Illinois State Board of Education School Business Services Department. Applications are considered according to five project priorities. Emergency projects receive first priority and must result from a disaster as described under the School Construction Law; conditions caused by age or a lack of timely maintenance do not constitute emergencies, and costs covered by insurance cannot be claimed as part of an emergency project. Health/Life Safety projects are the second priority and include qualifying improvements addressing Health/Life Safety Code violations, handicapped accessibility, or school security. Applicants using Health/Life Safety as the source of local matching funds must have the required approved amendment before submitting the grant application. The remaining priority levels are state priority projects, permanent improvement projects, and other projects. State priority projects include work necessary for energy conservation or adapting a facility to better serve students in a program funded under the School Code, such as preschool education or school technology. Permanent improvement projects include upgrades or installation of building systems such as air conditioning, electrical, or plumbing systems, as well as other improvements that better adapt a facility to educational programs. Other projects are those that do not fall into the preceding categories. Awards are made to emergency projects first, followed by Health/Life Safety projects and then the remaining priority levels until available funding is exhausted. If funds are exhausted within a priority level before every application can be funded, applications within that level are ranked and awarded according to the district's need index. Grant recipients must submit a final expenditure report within 20 calendar days after project completion. The report must describe the use of grant funds and actual project expenditures. Because the program requires a dollar-for-dollar match, if actual expenditures are lower than expected and the state grant consequently exceeds 50 percent of total actual project expenditures, the recipient must refund the amount exceeding 50 percent, including interest earned on the unexpended portion. Questions about the program may be directed to the School Business Services Department at SMPG@isbe.net or 217-785-8779. The source also provides the general School Business Department contact email finance1@isbe.net.

Do not begin project work before submitting the application; ensure any required Health/Life Safety amendment is approved before application submission; accurately classify the project under the five priority levels because emergencies are funded first, followed by Health/Life Safety and the remaining priorities; exclude ongoing operational costs and non-contracted in-house labor; provide local funds equal to the grant amount requested