Illinois school district provides Internet to needy families


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) — One central Illinois school district has started providing Internet service to needy families at no charge.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports (http://bit.ly/1MjJSUJ ) that Bloomington District 87 started the pilot program this spring with 38 families at Bloomington Junior High School. The goal is to make sure students have online access.

School Superintendent Barry Reilly says he doesn't want families "to have to choose between Internet access and dinner." He says the program is necessary to close the achievement gap between rich and poor students. Reilly anticipates 400 to 600 students will be eligible for the program when it expands in the fall.

The newspaper reports the cost is an estimated $27,000 for 400 students next year. Reilly says he hopes to eventually pay for the project without district money.

___

Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast