(WSIL) -- A sigh of relief for staff and teachers at two school districts in southern Illinois.Â
Shawnee School District Superintendent Shelly Clover-Hill says her schools and Galatia School District will receive a significant loss grant in the Illinois State Fiscal Year 2023 budget.Â
"Happy tears, dancing, laughter, shouts of joy," she says about her reaction to the funding being put in the budget which passed in the early morning hours of April 9th.Â
This school year, her district and Galatia have been operating on smaller budgets. The lack comes from Grand Tower Energy Center and a coal mine failing to pay their property taxes.
The districts requested emergency funding to make up for this year's short fall as well as a change to the evidence-based funding formula as a long term solution.
Clover-Hill says she's still waiting to learn more about what exactly the grant means.Â
"I'm not sure if that is a long-term solution," she explains. "Or if this is our short-term problem and then we'll work on a long-term solution later."Â
Clover-Hill adds she's expecting some answers this coming week.
Shawnee and Galatia schools did fear consolidation with staff losing jobs and students having longer bus rides.
Stay with News 3 as we continue to follow this story.Â