Dieterich School Board Receives Funds from Quasquicentennial Committee

The committee said the allocation was in recognition of the contributions of the school district in helping make Dieterich's 125th birthday celebration a huge success.

The Board heard from administrators that the elementary and high school buildings were given a designation of "exemplary" and the junior high school earned a "commendable" designation from the Illinois State Board of Education; and elementary principal Kathy Pattenaude reported that Parent-Teacher Conferences were well attended again this year with nearly 100% of elementary parents attending.

District Superintendent Cary Jackson reviewed the tentative fiscal year tax levy. Jackson said the levy is very similar to those of recent years. No additional funds are being sought for the categories the Board controls, including Social Security, IMRF and Tort. The remaining funds are regulated by statutorial limits. Jackson said an increase in estimated Equalized Assessed Valuation is built into the levy to ensure that the District can capture the funds eligible for the district. This year's levy is estimated at 9.8% higher than what was extended for taxes last year but, due to an increase in EAV, the tax rate is expected to drop. Jackson emphasized that the levy is set at a higher percentage than the EAV will actually generate to ensure that available funds are captured.

Dieterich board members heard from Jackson on district goals, highlighting progress made in the last quarter. Additional aides, fulltime guidance, increased Pre-K, additional anti-bullying measures and District branding have all shown progress toward completion.

The Dieterich board approved the purchase of new cafeteria trays, and approved Jon Hoene as a volunteer high school boy's basketball coach.