Katie Renee Cooper

The Fall Academic Report for Crete-Monee School District 201-U outlines the district's mission to engage and empower students to positively impact their community and future. The report provides an overview of student demographics for the 2024-2025 school year and details each school's performance based on the Illinois School Report Card. It presents school improvement plans for the 2024-2025 school year and specific academic goals for individual schools, many targeting the 2025-2026 school year. The document highlights strategic wins and rising opportunities for 2025-2026, including STEM expansion, early college credit, CTE pathways, improved instructional alignment, and strengthened community partnerships, alongside key indicators of success across student engagement, empowerment, and career impact.

The Truth-in-Taxation Hearing discussed property taxes to be collected in 2026. Key discussion points included definitions of terms like Equalized Assessed Value (EAV), Tax Levy, Tax Extension, and Tax Rate. Requirements for tax extensions, including the 5% or CPI maximum increase, were reviewed. Historical data on Equalized Assessed Value and tax rates, as well as data used to determine the levy, such as the Consumer Price Index, new construction, and annual bond payments, were presented. The Crete-Monee 201-U levy, extension, and tax rates were analyzed, and the potential impact on property owners was discussed.

The board meeting included discussions on public comments regarding the district's debt, budget, and construction projects. There were board updates on the Kids Summit in Peoria, the state of the district meeting for CITE, and recognition of musicians selected for the ILMEA District One concerts. The superintendent shared updates, expressing gratitude for the CSK team's flowers and reflecting on Thanksgiving. National Education Week and National School Board Members Day were celebrated, with recognition of staff and board members. Kretta Scott King Magnet School was honored for its ranking among elementary schools in Illinois. A presentation was given by the director from the Cremon Early Learning Center on family involvement.

The budget includes estimated beginning fund balances, receipts/revenues from local, state, and federal sources, and disbursements/expenditures for instruction, support services, community services, and debt services. It also covers other sources/uses of funds, such as transfers among funds and the sale of bonds. The budget provides a detailed breakdown of estimated revenues and expenditures across various funds, including educational, operations & maintenance, debt service, transportation, and capital projects.

The annual budget sets the plan for accomplishing the financial goals of the District. The Board of Education may from time to time amend the budget by the same procedure as for the budget's original adoption. The Department of Business & Operations will work to use Qmlativ's Staff Planning module to help project staffing needs, salaries, benefits, and budgets more accurately. The Department of Business & Operations set and hold the financial standards necessary to stay within the Board approved FY26 Budget.