Section 265.40  Allocation of Funds

Applications for funding shall be approved and final determinations regarding the amounts to be provided shall be made based upon the total funds appropriated for this initiative, the amounts necessary to fund the top-ranked proposals, and the need to strengthen educational programs in the arts and foreign language on a statewide basis.

a)         Recipients of planning grants shall be given priority consideration in the subsequent awarding of implementation grants.  However, receipt of a planning grant shall not be a prerequisite to receipt of an implementation grant (see Section 265.210 of this Part).

b)         It is the intention of the State Board of Education and the Illinois Arts Council to approve implementation grants under this Part for a three-year period.  Funding for the second and third years shall be contingent upon the availability of funds for the program and evidence presented in renewal proposals in accordance with Section 265.30(h) of this Part.  Amounts awarded in the second and third years will decrease in light of the expectation for the funded programs to be sustained with local resources.