A historically high inflation rate is allowing Community Unit School District 7 to levy the maximum amount allowed under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL). PTELL, approved by Macoupin County voters in 1995, restricts taxing bodies from increasing their annual tax extensions by no more than five percent of the previous year’s extension or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. The CPI, essentially the rate of inflation as determined by the Department of Commerce, has never exceeded five percent since 1996, the year PTELL became effective in Macoupin County. This year, with inflation soaring to seven percent, CUSD 7 and other Macoupin school districts will be able to seek a five percent increase in their property tax revenue.
“In the past, we’ve been stuck with the CPI,” Supt. Shane Owsley told members of the Board of Education during the panel’s regular monthly meeting Monday night. “This year for the first time we’re able to go for five percent.”
Typically, the CPI has ranged from a low of .7 percent to up to 2.3 percent in 2020. Last year, the CPI was 1.4 percent meaning the amount of taxes collected for 2021 could not exceed the previous year’s extension by 1.4 percent.
Board members voted unanimously to adopt the tax levy resolution calling for a levy of $3,561,741 for 2022 property taxes collectible in 2023. Last year’s extension, the amount of money actually received from property taxes, amounted to $3,186,897. Because the proposed levy exceeds last year’s extension by more than five percent, the district is required to publish a public Truth in Taxation notice and conduct a public hearing.
The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m., Monday, Dec. 19, during the board’s December meeting. That meeting is scheduled a week earlier than normal to ensure the levy is adopted in time to submit it to the County Clerk by the last Tuesday in December, the deadline for filing tax levies.
Owsley reminded board members of the difference between the levy and the extension, noting that the levy is the amount of money the board is requesting. The extension, on the other hand, is the amount of money the district actually receives after the County Clerk determines the tax rate and applies it to the district’s total equalized assessed valuation.
With the extension capped at a five percent increase, the district would receive no more than $3,375,869.
Other factors affecting the tax extension include the district’s total equalized assessed valuation, which is expected to increase but no one knows by how much. Last year, the EAV increased by 10.41 percent, according to data Owsley presented Monday night, but the average increase over the past eight years has been 2.81 percent—the figure Owsley used to project next year’s EAV for his calculations.
Because of increases in the EAV, the district’s tax rate has actually crept downward, according to Owsley, from $4.17 in 2020 to $3.65 last year.
Further limiting the tax rate are rate limits set by law for each of the district’s major operating funds.
Because of PTELL and rate limits, Owsley said it is not possible for the district to overtax property owners. However, setting the levy too low would not only cost the district money for the coming year but also established a diminished baseline on which subsequent levies would be based.
“The levy is a Christmas list,” Owsley said. “You put everything on it you possibly want, knowing you’re not going to get it all. But if you don’t put it on the list, you’re not going to get it at all. We ask for the moon and beyond knowing it’s not going to overtax individuals because it is formula-driven. We’re not going to get anything more than what we’re entitled to because of the rate limits.”
Broken down by fund, the proposed levy seeks to generate $1,568,864 for the Education Fund, $410,370 for Operations and Maintenance, $166,244 for Transportation, $37,722 for Working Cash, $109,322 for IMRF, $98,890 for Social Security, $222,459 for the Tort Fund, $30,395 for Special Education, and $917,475 for the Bond and Interest Fund.
Owsley also reminded the board that CUSD 7 is a Tier I school district, a state designation that reflects the district’s funding status. CUSD 7 is 69 percent adequately funded, according to Owsley, and receives Tier I state funding to help make up the difference. Because some of the district’s Evidence-Based Funding is calculated from the basis of the district’s Tier designation also makes it important to levy the maximum amount allowed, Owsley said. Next year it is possible that the district will reach 73 percent of adequate funding, boosting the designation to Tier II.
A detailed presentation on the proposed levy is on file at the District Office for public review or can be viewed online on the district’s website.
DISTRICT REPORT CARD
During a presentation regarding the annual school report cards issued by the Illinois State Board of Education, board members learned that Gillespie Middle School has been upgraded from a Targeted school to a Commendable school based on student test scores. The designation essentially means the school has no underperforming student groups.
For the past four years, the district has worked with consultants from the American Institute for Research (AIR) to develop and implement school improvement plans to boost student performance and test scores.
“It was not an easy process,” Owsley commented. “Now that we’re off that list, we want to do whatever we can to stay off it.”
For elementary and middle school students, the report card is based on results of an Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) given each year to determine students’ academic performance levels. For high school students, the report card is based upon SAT test scores collected from juniors and seniors.
Newly hired Middle School Principal Patrick McGinthy extended kudos to the leadership team that implemented the school improvement plan.
According to the report card, 21.4 percent of GMS students met or exceeded state standards in English and language arts last year (8.7 points below the state average), compared with 19.04 percent a year earlier. In math, 21.4 percent of GMS students met or exceeded state standards (4.1 points below the state average), compared with 16 percent last year. The takeaway, according to McGinthy, is that GMS student performance is improving in response to school improvement plans.
McGinthy said the report card data is a “snapshot” of student performance on a particular day when the test was given but does not reflect the overall picture regarding student academic growth. In both English/language arts and math, more than 30 percent of GMS students are lumped into a category for students “approaching” the state standards. The report card, McGinthy said, does not reflect the number of students who are on the cusp of reaching the standard.
“These bar graphs don’t necessarily show the growth in each segment of our student enrollment,” he said. He said data shows student growth or improvement is at 50 percent. “That’s a significant number.”
“While we’re designated a Commendable school, we are still required to implement the third year of the school improvement plan,” he said. “We will continue with the plan because clearly it is working.”
High School Principal Jill Rosentreter, who was Middle School Principal when the school landed on the Targeted list, said the school became a Targeted school because of underperformance on the part of students with individualized education plans, formerly known as special education students. She spent a year working with teachers and AIR consultants to develop the school improvement plan that was implemented the following year.
“IEP students showed the greatest deficit and now show the greatest growth, so kudos to them,” Rosentreter said.
Assistant Principal Tara Cooper reported for BenGil Elementary School, noting the report card shows elementary students “are moving in the right direction.” At the elementary level, 19.2 percent of students met or exceeded standards (10.9 points below the state average), compared with 14.9 a year earlier. In math, 22 percent of elementary students met or exceeded state standards, compared with 7.2 percent the previous year and a state average of 25.5 percent.
Cooper attributed the dramatic increase in math scores to a newly implemented math curriculum that is better aligned with the IAR test.
High School Principal Rosentreter said the report card showed an anticipated dip in performance for high school students attributed in part to the fact that the year-to-year comparison references different groups of students. The elementary and middle school assessments generally track performance for the same group of students from one year to the next.
In English/language arts, 26.3 percent of high school students met or exceeded state standards, compared with 27.5 percent a year earlier and a state average of 29.8. In math, 16.3 percent of high schoolers met state standards, compared with 28 percent who met or exceeded state standards a year earlier and a statewide average of 28.8 percent. In science, 42.7 percent of students met or exceeded standards, compared with 42.4 a year earlier and a statewide average of 51.1 percent.
The report card shows a drop-out rate last year of 7.5 percent, which Rosentreter characterized as a “significant concern.” The local drop-out rate is double the state average of 3.4 percent.
Owsley said one factor contributing to the drop-out rate was the COVID pandemic and the nature of the district’s local economy.
“We had a lot of students who started working to help support their families and did not come back after COVID,” Owsley reported.
Owsley said the district is taking proactive steps to improve test scores this year.
The district is utilizing MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) to determine the level of students’ academic performance. “We can’t help students get to where we want them to be if we don’t know where they currently are,” he said.
Additionally, teachers are encouraged to focus on state standards as a basis for teaching strategies. “We have to make sure that what we are teaching corresponds to state standards,” he said. Last year, he said he and administrators noticed that students consistently missed a math question on the IAR test. “We went to our math teaches and what did they say? They said we don’t teach that until later in the year. So the solution is simple. You teach that concept earlier.”
The district is implementing an IXL intervention program that creates individualized learning programs for students and has implemented an IXL intervention program in science at the high school level. High school classes are emphasizing preparation for SAT testing in specific classes and GHS juniors will take a practice SAT in February. Additionally, classes are engaging in IAR preparation district-wide.
One issue teachers and administrators have encountered is that the assessment tests are administered online and most students are accustomed to taking tests with pencil and paper. To that end, teachers are working to make students more comfortable with computerized testing.
“The data is what it is and I’m not making excuses,” Owsley said. “The important thing is what we are doing to address these issues.”
PERSONNEL
Following an hour-long executive session, board members voted unanimously to hire Kaylee Collins, Alton, with a tentative assignment as a speech and language pathologist, pending a check of certification and background. Collins earned a bachelor’s degree in 2020 from Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo., and is expected to receive a master’s degree in communication disorders in December, also from Truman State University. The speech and language pathologist position has been vacant since the beginning of the current academic year.
The board also approved maternity leave for Assistant Principal Tara Cooper, tentatively set for Feb. 3 through April 13.
Board members voted to accept “with regret” the resignation for retirement purposes of Lisa Heyen, effective Dec. 31. In a related matter, the board also voted to post vacancies for two six-hour and two three-hour cook positions.
Additionally, the board accepted the resignation of Nathan Wise as an assistant football coach, effective Nov. 7, and to post the assistant coaching position as vacant.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board agreed to an intergovernmental agreement with the Area Career Center in Litchfield which will enable GHS students to attend classes at the facility. The vocational center will operate under the auspices of Lincoln Land Community Center but Owsley said Lewis and Clark Community College reportedly has an agreement for the center to accept students from the LCCC district.
Owsley said he recently attended an event announcing the development of the center during which representatives of both colleges indicated it would accept students from the LCCC district.
“We’re going to hold them to that,” he said.
Students attending the center will be able to earn college credits through LCCC.