Mark your calendars for January 11 for our Second Annual iRead for 112 Foundation Kick-Off at the Highland Park Public Library.  Look for this year to be bigger and better with more authors and more District 112 staff guest readers.  iRead will run from January 11 through January 31. For more details, continue to check our website and Facebook page.  

Grants In Action

Third grade teacher Katelyn Lorenz and the Wayne Thomas third graders planted their Wisconsin Fast Plants on Monday, October 28th. Students are so eager to watch the life-cycle of the plants, they come in every day and look to see if any changes occurred during the night. As part of the project, each student has a journal, where they are writing down their observations, drawing pictures of their plants at the different stages, and recording the heights of their plants. Can't wait to see the photos of the fully grown plants!  Photos of the planting are posted on our Facebook page.

     Board of Education members voted November 19 night to notify the North Suburban Special Education District (NSSED) cooperative of its intent to withdraw its membership.  The NSSED Articles of Agreement require 18 months notice before a member district can withdraw, so the withdrawal would not take place until the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.

     "Over the years, NSSED has played an important role in providing excellent services to our students," said Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Matt Barbini.  However, the North Shore School District 112 has sufficient enrollment and has developed internal capacity to internally serve the vast majority of students requiring special education services, he said.  "We believe that the dollars currently spent on NSSED membership and administrative costs would be more effectively used to support direct programming and services for our own students."

     An analysis of projected revenues and expenditures shows that the district could save more than $378,000 annually by withdrawing from NSSED and providing the same programming in-house.  The projected savings takes into account that a small number of district students have needs that would require them to continue to be served by outside day or residential therapeutic schools, such as North Shore Academy, which services students with significant social, emotional and behavioral needs and which is operated by NSSED.

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     The Board of Education held a public hearing on its proposed property tax levy for the coming year.  The board's total levy request is $66,291,473, an increase of less than one percent over last year's levy amount of $65,754,089.  The small requested increase reflects the fact that the final $1.8 million payment on a $40 million bond issued in 1997 was made last year.   

     However, because school property taxes are capped at the rate of the Consumer Price Index, the district's portion of the tax bill is actually anticipated to decrease slightly for property owners.  Based on the expected levy amount that will be approved by the county, the tax bill for a property owner whose home is valued at $500,000 is anticipated to be $53 less than last year.

     Without the debt payment, the requested levy amount represents approximately 3.7% more than last year's levy.  However, the district expects to receive only about 2% more, because of the property tax cap.  The reduction in the bond and interest fund represents a decrease of approximately 2.75% in the levy.  The board will vote on the levy request at its December meeting. 

Click here for the levy presentation

     Do you know an outstanding teacher in Grades 4-8 who is deserving of recognition?  Parents, students and staff are invited to nominate teachers in North Shore School District 112 for a prestigious 2014 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching! Nominations close December 31, 2013.  Click here for a nomination form.