SPRINGFIELD — Bluford and Woodlawn schools are two of 39 districts the state has announced will be eligible for Property Tax Relief Grants that will allow them to cut local property taxes and replace revenue with state funds.

The grant, part of the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act, allows eligible school districts to cut local property taxes and replace that revenue with state funds.

Governor JB Pritzker’s FY 2020 budget appropriated $3.65 million more for the grant than in FY 2019.

The FY 2020 grant can serve 11 more districts than it did in FY 2019, when 28 school districts received the grant.

The nearly $54 million grant can replace nearly $57 million in local property taxes, once school districts proceed with the abatement.

The districts that are eligible for the grant are those that have the highest tax rates within their organization type (elementary, high school, or unit district) out of all those that applied.

A total of 233 districts applied for the grant in FY 2020. All districts may apply for the grant each year, pending appropriations.

Find more information on the Property Tax Relief Grant at www.isbe.net/proptaxrelief.