LM Feb 2025

erence Shawnee Region Unity Point CCSD #140 Dr. Lori James-Gross, superintendant

Additional EBF Tier Funding

Harvard CUSD #50

$12 Million

Unity Point 140 is located in Carbondale, serving 650 pre-K through 8th-grade students in one building. About 62 percent qualify as low income. Our location near SIU makes us unique, as international housing in our district creates a diverse EL program serving students speaking 15 to 25 different languages. As staff retired or resigned, we reduced positions through attrition rather than replacing them. Remaining staff had to take on multiple roles without additional pay to maintain basic programming. Our budget was so lean we had to explore tax anticipation warrants and credit lines just to meet payroll. After 2016-17, we weren’t sure we could open for the school year, relying heavily on grants to sustain programming. 67 % in FY 2025 56 % in FY 2018 EBF allowed us to return to our mission of providing whole-child experiences. We rebuilt our team with social workers, interventionists, behavior analysts, and speech-language pathologists. We expanded our specials programs and added full-time music, PE, art, computer, and library teachers. Within six years (2018-2024), we raised average teacher salaries by over 6 percent because of EBF, which helped maintain quality staff in our rural district. With our limited rural and residential property tax base, EBF is crucial for maintaining programs and competitive salaries to retain quality educators. It supports essential social-emotional services and family support programs. Throughout COVID, we’ve seen improved student outcomes in test scores, yearly growth, and high school performance. Without EBF, we couldn’t provide the comprehensive programming that’s helping our students succeed.

     Riverton CUSD #14 $3.3 Million

Unity Point CCSD #140

$1.5 Million

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LM Feb 2025 continued...