Peotone School Board Approves Tentative Levy

By Andrea Arens

Inflation will be over five percent for the first in 30 years, therefore allowing taxing bodies to increase their levies significantly.

Property Tax Extension Limit Law caps taxing bodies at increasing the levy by five percent or inflation, whichever is less. Seniors and veterans can take advantage of freezes on their property taxes but this won’t help the average family household already slammed with high gas prices and grocery bills.

The school district isn’t the only taxing body to increase their levy. Look for the fire protection district to increase theirs, and Will County’s mental health referendum also passed, therefore increasing their levy.

At the November 21 school board meeting, the school board unanimously approved the tentative 2022 tax levy and the tax levy certificate. The public hearing will be at the December 19 school board meeting.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Brandon Owens, reviewed assessment scores for the board. The assessment scores were the first to be released since prior to the pandemic. Not surprisingly, Peotone along with many other districts, including the state, saw some dips in test scores. Overall, the district received a “Commendable” rating. Ratings ranged from Exemplary (top 10 percent in the state), to Commendable, to Targeted, to Comprehensive (lower performing five percent of Title I schools). Illinois Assessment of Readiness score ranges from 650-850 and Peotone scored a 739.

School Board President Tara Robinson acknowledged some of the score deficits and asked if there was going to be a plan moving forward to address those score “dips.”

Owens replied, “I think the big point that stands out is last year was kind of our first year into the flow of things. Not only that, we were just getting back to getting students accustomed to schedules, on track, understanding attendance, and getting grades on time. Social emotional care was getting greater, too, at that level. So that’s a lot of the things we had into play. I’m not blaming that in any way, just bringing it into place. We need to understand this past year, last year was kind of our starting year again, as we get back on track and work our way up.”

Owens said we’re seeing a lot of approaching students, and the scores are rising. He predicted in the next year or two the scores would increase. “I think we’re in a good spot. I think we’re in a good spot with our teachers and our interventionists who we have in place. There’s a lot of different things we can focus on moving forward.”

Owens said he didn’t like teaching to a test, because he thought 207-U students were making a lot of growth but did think there were things that could be focused on with the standards and the concerns with some of the scores.

School Board member Tim Stoub asked if the growth was sustainable, and Owens remarked he couldn’t foresee the future, but he thought district numbers could continue to improve. Stoub also asked if Owens thought we’d always need interventionists, and Owens replied support is always needed for those students who need it.

Owens said, “I don’t see an interventionist as someone who’s not going to be needed in any of these buildings. They’re very important. They’re successful.”

Bettenhausen asked if there were federal funds in place to fund those academic supports, and Owens replied the district does have ESSER funds left to help.

Bettenhausen also inquired about the district’s 89 percent graduation rate and the state’s 67 percent graduation rate. Special Services Director Amy Loy replied that special needs students who continue in adult preparation programs are often coded as not graduating per the state.

In other board news, the PHS Welding Hood Ventilation Upgrade Project was unanimously approved for a cost $27,950.

The High School Fire Panel Replacement Project also unanimously was approved for $65,486.

In addition, the Peotone Junior High One Key System Project unanimously was approved for $26,245. It will allow all the junior high doors to be always locked from the outside, and all keyed alike.

A new yoga club at the Intermediate Center was unanimously approved.

In the better news portion of the board meeting, sophomore Lauryn Rembert was awarded Academic Student of the Month.

Kankakee Area Career Center’s Student of the Month, Melanie Chaloupka, a senior at Peotone High School, also was honored.

The October 2022 Peotone Junior High Students of the Month were sixth grader Shane Lynch, seventh grader Gabrielle Hill, and eighth grader Abby Varboncoeur.

Junior High Speech Team students, Shariah Judson, Olivia Robinson, and Kateyln Leitelt also were honored for their performance in the IESA Speech Contest. Judson received first place for her solo, and Robinson and Leitelt received first place for their duet.