Board Highlights: 2018-19 calendar, tax levy

Volume 21, No. 5 | December 18, 2017

News From the December Board Meeting

Property Tax Revenues Projected to Increase 3%

District 28’s property tax request for the next tax year is 4.99 percent higher than this year, though the district anticipates it will actually receive about 3 percent more.

The levy is the total amount of property tax revenue requested to fund district programs and expenses. Exactly how much each property owner pays is determined by the township assessor based on individual property value. The district only makes a sum total request, and that request is controlled by state law that limits tax levy increases to the Consumer Price Index or 5 percent, whichever is less, plus new property development.

The Consumer Price Index is set by the Bureau of Labor Statistics based on the cost of goods and services for the year. The CPI for next year’s levy is 2.1 percent.

The actual amount of new property development, however, is not known at the time the levy is prepared. The district has one opportunity to capture new property development, so the levy generally overestimates growth to maximize revenue.

Chief School Business Official Jessica Donato said the total levy request of $34.9 million represents a total increase of 4.99 percent, though she estimates the district will receive about $34.2 million.

Property taxes make up 85 percent of the district’s revenue. It’s important to maximize the levy to be prepared for future unknown funding issues such as rising insurance costs, unfunded mandates, reduced state funding, and student services needs.

2018-19 School Year Starts With Two Institute Days

Next year, teachers will have two institute days instead of one to kick off the school year. The 2018-19 school calendar was approved, with institute days on Monday, Aug. 20 and Tuesday, Aug. 21 to kick off the school year.

The change was requested by both teachers and administrators to better prepare for students to arrive on Aug. 22. Meet the teacher will be on Aug. 21.

In 2019, the Casimir Pulaski holiday, which has been a Teacher Institute day for several years, changes to a holiday for staff as well as students.

Also in 2019, the spring half-day School Improvement Plan Day moves from the third Friday in April to the third Thursday in April due to Good Friday being a non-attendance day. Winter and spring breaks align with High School District 225. Winter break is slated for Monday, Dec. 24, 2018 through Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. Spring break is March 25-29, 2019. The last day of school without snow days is Thursday, June 6, 2019.

One challenge to this year’s calendar is Valentine’s Day. When possible, elementary spring parent-teacher conferences are scheduled to avoid the holiday but still align to create a long weekend by connecting with President’s Day on Monday. In 2019, however, Valentine’s Day is on a Thursday. Moving conferences earlier in the week would split up the weekend. So, the second day of elementary parent-teacher conferences will be held on Feb. 14.

View the full 2018-19 calendar.

District Happenings

Hour of Code Helps Build a Coding Community

All District 28 schools participated in Hour of Code Dec. 4 to 10. Northbrook Junior High created a school-wide event lasting all week. Students were invited to participate before school or during lunch. Community members were also invited to come learn code side by side with students. Two Board members and two state legislators and Village President Sandy Frum participated.

The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. The objective is to expose students to coding in an effort to build long-term engagement. In just one hour, new coders learn that coding is not as difficult as they imagine. More experienced coders, meanwhile, continue to hone their skills.

Watch the video for more!

Fifth Grade Students Learn Sport of Curling

All fifth-grade classes visited the Chicago Curling Club in Northbrook to experience the little-known sport. Expanded to all schools this year, Greenbriar parent Karrie Gottschild helped organize club volunteers and facilitate the experience.

Learn more by watching the video.

Live Streaming Moves to YouTube

This year, District 28 has switched to YouTube to live stream performances.

There is a D28 Music channel, which is used for music department concerts that generally take place at NBJH. Each school also has a channel that will carry the Winter Sing and Spring Musical.

The YouTube channels will also host videos made about events and programs at the school and more! You can subscribe to the channel so when any new videos are posted, they will appear on your YouTube feed. You can access the links by searching the school name on YouTube or through the district website:

Don’t know about YouTube channels and subscribing? Check out this lively explanation

Reminders

Alumni Band Festival Dec. 20

Graduates of the Northbrook Junior High band program are invited to join in a special evening concert at 7 p.m. on Dec. 20 at Northbrook Junior High. The public is also invited to this special holiday concert.

In what is a bi-annual tradition, alumni are invited to participate at any level they are comfortable: as audience members, casual performers, or full-fledged members of the NBJH Wind Ensemble.

The alumni who wish to join the band as casual performers are invited to play "America the Beautiful" alongside our students. The arrangement will be accessible to even those who have taken a few years off playing their instrument. For those alumni who still perform actively, a more difficult selection will be available for them to perform with our Wind Ensemble members.

Please contact band director Greg Scapillato at gscapillato@northbrook28.net or 847-504-3530 for more information. Sign up to participate by visiting d28bands.weebly.com/alumni .

#TLC28

District 28’s official hashtag! You can search the hashtag on Twitter or Facebook to monitor posts from teachers, administrators and the district accounts. This hashtag helps us tell the story of Teaching, Learning and Caring in District 28.