DeKALB – DeKalb School District 428 will use a $21 million construction grant to build new entrances at Littlejohn and Malta elementary schools.

The DeKalb school board gave the administration the go-ahead Tuesday to begin seeking bids on projects that would cost the district an estimated $785,000. District leaders want to rebuild five elementary school entrances because of security concerns; two of the projects had been approved previously using other funds.

District leaders applied for the state construction grant while building DeKalb High School, but did not receive the money until after it was finished. They vowed to use the money for educational purposes, declining to put it toward the district’s $2.3 million deficit.