105 ILCS 5/1B-8
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 105 - SCHOOLS|105 ILCS 5/ - School Code.|Article 1B - School District Financial Oversight Panel And Emergency Financial Assistance

 (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-8)Sec. 1B-8. There is created in the State Treasury a  special fund to be known as the School District Emergency  Financial Assistance Fund (the "Fund").  The School District Emergency  Financial Assistance Fund shall consist of appropriations, loan repayments, grants from the  federal government, and donations from any public or private source.  Moneys in  the Fund  may be appropriated only to the Illinois Finance Authority and  the State Board for  those purposes authorized under this Article and Articles   1F and 1H of this Code.   The appropriation may be  allocated and expended by the State Board for contractual services to provide technical assistance or consultation to school districts to assess their financial condition and to Financial Oversight Panels that petition for emergency financial assistance grants. The Illinois Finance Authority may provide    loans to school districts which are the subject of an  approved petition for emergency financial assistance under   Section 1B-4,   1F-62, or 1H-65 of this Code. Neither the State Board of Education nor the Illinois Finance Authority may collect any fees for providing these services.From the amount allocated to each such school  district under this Article the State Board shall identify a sum sufficient to  cover all approved costs of the Financial Oversight Panel   established for the respective school district.  If the State Board and State  Superintendent of Education have not approved emergency financial assistance in  conjunction with the appointment of a Financial Oversight Panel, the Panel's   approved costs shall be paid from deductions from the district's general State  aid or evidence-based funding.The Financial Oversight Panel may prepare and file  with the State Superintendent a proposal for emergency  financial assistance for the school district and for its    operations budget.  No expenditures from the Fund shall be  authorized by the State Superintendent until he or she has approved  the request of the Panel, either as submitted or in such  lesser amount determined by the State Superintendent.The maximum amount of an emergency financial assistance loan  which may be allocated to any school district under this  Article, including moneys necessary for the operations of  the Panel, shall not exceed $4,000 times the number of pupils  enrolled in the school district during the school year  ending June 30 prior to the date of approval by the State  Board of the petition for emergency financial assistance, as  certified to the local board and the Panel by the State  Superintendent.  An emergency financial assistance grant shall not exceed $1,000 times the  number of such pupils.  A district may receive both a loan and a grant.The payment of an emergency State financial assistance grant or loan  shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Payment of the emergency State financial assistance loan is subject to the applicable provisions of the Illinois Finance Authority Act.  Emergency State financial assistance allocated and paid to a school  district under this Article may be applied to any fund or funds from which  the local board of education of that district is authorized to make  expenditures by law.Any emergency financial assistance grant proposed by the  Financial Oversight Panel and approved by the State  Superintendent may be paid in its entirety during the  initial year of the Panel's existence or spread in equal or  declining amounts over a period of years not to exceed the  period of the Panel's existence. An emergency financial assistance loan proposed by the Financial Oversight Panel and approved by the Illinois Finance Authority may be paid in its entirety during the initial year of the Panel's existence or spread in equal or declining amounts over a period of years not to exceed the period of the Panel's existence.  All  loans made by the Illinois Finance Authority for a  school district shall be required to be repaid, with simple interest over  the term of the loan at a rate equal to 50% of the one-year Constant Maturity  Treasury (CMT) yield as last published by the Board of Governors of the Federal  Reserve System before the date on which the district's loan is  approved  by the Illinois Finance Authority, not later than the  date the  Financial Oversight Panel ceases to exist.  The Panel shall  establish and the Illinois Finance Authority shall  approve the terms and conditions, including the schedule, of  repayments.  The schedule shall provide for repayments  commencing July 1 of each year or upon each fiscal year's receipt of moneys from a tax levy for emergency financial assistance. Repayment shall be incorporated into the  annual budget of the school district and may be made from any fund or funds  of the district in which there are moneys available. An emergency financial assistance loan to the Panel or district shall not be considered part of the calculation of a district's debt for purposes of the limitation specified in Section 19-1 of this Code. Default on repayment is subject to the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act. When moneys are repaid  as provided herein they shall not be made available to the local board for  further use as emergency financial assistance under this Article at any  time thereafter.  All repayments required to be made by a school district  shall be received by the State Board and deposited in the School District  Emergency Financial Assistance Fund.In establishing the terms and conditions for the  repayment obligation of the school district the Panel shall  annually determine whether a separate local property tax levy is  required.  The board of any school district with a tax rate  for educational purposes for the prior year of less than  120% of the maximum rate for educational purposes authorized  by Section 17-2 shall provide for a separate  tax levy for emergency financial assistance repayment  purposes.  Such tax levy shall not be subject to referendum approval.  The  amount of the levy shall be equal to the  amount necessary to meet the annual repayment obligations of  the district as established by the Panel, or 20% of the  amount levied for educational purposes for the prior year,  whichever is less.  However, no district shall be  required to levy the tax if the district's operating tax  rate as determined under Section  18-8, 18-8.05, or 18-8.15 exceeds 200% of the district's tax rate for educational  purposes for the prior year.  (Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)