By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

Schools around the state are required to offer special programs, but who pays for those required classes?

The State of Illinois reimburses schools for those costs, called mandatory categorical payments. Pontiac District 90 Superintendent Jon Kilgore talks about all the great programs at his school, but with the State’s lagging payment schedule, it can cause a budget nightmare for schools.

“They’ll get them to you – they just might get them to you in the next fiscal year, which doesn’t help your budget at all. Or they’ll get you one and delay the next one, and then they can say they got you for those payments, just in the next fiscal year. That’s not how budgeting works,” Kilgore said.

Kilgore was a guest on a recent Community Forum, where he details some of those programs. That can be found at WJEZ.com.