By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

Things seem to be looking up for schools in Illinois.

Mark Jontry, Regional Superintendent of Schools for Livingston, McLean, DeWitt and Logan counties was a guest on a recent Community Forum and said the General Assembly came to an agreement on a k-12 education budget.

“What that means for our school districts is they’ll be getting their general state aid payments as the year progresses. They are going to be getting some of their mandated categorical payments relative to the revenues the state will be taking in, so in that regards, it’s a positive in that we can start the year that the districts, for the most part, can plan,” said Jontry.

Jontry said the only thing that hangs in the balance for schools is the prospect of a property tax freeze, which will present challenges to districts in the coming years.

The full interview can be found in our podcast section at wjez.com.