It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the Christmas season and is looking forward to some quality family time coming up with everyone celebrating their own family holidays and traditions. This is when amazing memories are made that will be cherished for a lifetime. I need to take some time this month to talk about the Elwood School Tax Levy. It’s a complicated process, and this year, it is even more complicated than usual, so I will try to keep it simple so everyone understands the special circumstances that are in play this year.
The Tax Levy is where I am given estimates of the total property value in our school district by
the county (called EAV), and based on that estimate I request an amount of tax money from the county in the form of local property taxes. The tax money we receive is called a Tax Extension.
So: EAV x Tax Rate = Tax Extension. The second factor that impacts our Levy is called the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL). This law says that in any given year, the tax money given to a school from existing property cannot increase by more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5% - whichever is less. So if the school received a $1,000,000 Tax Extension, the next year they could receive no more than a $1,050,000 Tax Extension.
Why this matters this year more than ever:
As many of you already know, we have been in litigation with J Power over the property value of
their new Combined Cycle Power Plant built in our school district for several years. We have finally
reached a settlement with them. This is good news, but it does come with a one-year problem. That
problem is that because of that settlement, this year’s EAV has a significant drop from last year to this year. That EAV amount has decreased by almost $188 million dollars from $547,046,508 in 2023 to $359,214,545 in 2024. That’s a significant drop. All of that is to tell you this: Given that our EAV has fallen so dramatically this year, your Property Tax Rate will be going up to a similar rate that it was 2 years ago. If we don’t do this, we will be crippling the amount of property tax the school can receive forever. (Remember, the amount of tax money a school can receive is limited - based on the amount they received in the previous year.) Don’t worry – the Elwood Board of Education has planned for this. The Board plans on issuing Property Tax Rebates to all Elwood School District homeowners this coming winter. The amount of those rebates remains to be seen, but it will help significantly with the issue.
Dear Proud Tiger Families,
Happy Holidays! We appreciate all of the parents and guardians that participated in this year's parent teacher conferences. As we come to another end of a year I think about what we have accomplished as a school and community. We have truly come together to help, educate, and celebrate. I wanted to personally thank you for all your support. I can truly confirm that I have one of the best jobs in the world and get to spend each day with an amazing student body, staff, and parent community.
I also want to take a moment to acknowledge our families and how important they are this time of the year to all of us. We can not do our day to day routines or any of our projects without the help and care of our families. I think of my own children (Brayden, 13; Addison, 9) and spending time with them playing in the snow or a family board game. My hope is that our holiday events continue to grow strong and we remember the reason for the season. Be on the lookout for fun family and student events throughout the season.
Mr. Dooley has been working hard with our band and choir students to put together a holiday concert on December 16th at 6:30pm in the small gym. Also, Mr. Dooley will be throwing a winter wonderland concert for our Kindergarten - 2nd grade students in the large gym on December 11th at 6:30pm and an early show for students and seniors at 9am. Our amazing PTO will be sponsoring Kindergarten - 2nd grade Polar Express Experience on December 16th at 9am in the small gym, holiday shop for all students December 11-13th during their PE times, and holiday parties on December 20th at 12:20-1:20 pm with an early dismissal at 1:30pm. The Village of Elwood will also be hosting a wonderful holiday parade after the tree lighting ceremony on December 6th.
Throughout all the hustle and bustle of online shopping this season, I would like to remind everyone to stay healthy, drink your water, and try to get small amounts of healthy habits in when you can. Please check on your child’s progress via TeacherEase and contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns. We highly encourage open communication throughout the whole year.
Be sure to keep an eye out on our social media Elwood School Facebook page or subscribe to our Elwood School text message group: Send Y or Yes to our school’s short code number- 67587.
All the best and very blessed, Mr. Ryan Rekruciak Principal, Elwood School
As winter approaches please remember the school’s health guidelines:
KEEP YOUR STUDENT HOME IF THEY HAVE:
A fever of 100 or above, or have had one in the last 24 hours
Vomited or had diarrhea in the last 24 hours
A cough that is not well controlled
An ear ache
Bad sore throat
If you want to send throat lozenges, please send a note with them in a bag giving your permission
Red or itchy eyes
24 hour Rule: If a student is sent home with a fever, vomiting or diarrhea, and returns to school the following morning they will be held in the office until a guardian picks them up.
Fever-Keep your student home until the fever is gone without medication for 24 hours.
Vomiting or Diarrhea-Keep your student home for 24 hours after the last time your student vomited or had diarrhea.
Antibiotics-Keep your student home until 24 hours after the first dose of antibiotic treatment for ear infection or strep throat.
We had many musical performances to honor our veterans at the Veterans Day assembly on November 11th. Kindergarten and First Grade sang “Thank You To Our Veterans”. Third Grade sang and signed the ASL for “God Bless the U.S.A”. The Elwood Choir performed “On Veterans Day”, and the Elwood Junior High Band played “March across the Sea”. We also had two students do an amazing job on trumpet and clarinet on the “Star Spangled Banner”. The amazing Mrs. Telfer accompanied our groups.
5th grade Families! It is not too late to sign up for band! We had our band night in October, but your student can still join. I have an informational packet available with all the steps to rent an instrument. If renting an instrument is not financially possible, we do have instruments that were donated or purchased by Mr. Page and other teachers and staff for students to use. I would be happy to call or email to answer any questions you have or schedule an appointment to test your student on an instrument.
In December, we have two Holiday Concerts. Our Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade concert is on Wednesday December 11th at 6:30 p.m. in the big gym. Each class will be singing three songs as well as our combined performance of “A Song of Peace”. The Junior High Band and the Elwood Choir concert takes place on Monday, December 16th at 6:30 p.m. in the small gym. I hope to see you all there!
Mr. Dooley
Holiday Concert
December 11th 6:30 p.m.
Kindergarten, First Grade, & Second Grade
On Wednesday, December 11th, the doors will open at 6:00 pm. Students should report to their assigned homeroom by 6:15 pm. Kindergarten will be in the Cafeteria, First Grade will be in the IMC and Second grade will be in their classrooms. The concert will begin in the large gym at 6:30 p.m. Our final song, “A Song of Peace,” has every student singing together. After the final song, students will be dismissed first to their homerooms. Parents and guardians will need to sign out their students in the homerooms with their teacher after the concert. Students’ clothes should be festive and dressy. Holiday wear is welcomed! Your students have been doing a wonderful job and working hard. This will be a great night for them to be stars! We will also be doing a performance for the students and staff the morning of December 11th at 9:00 a.m. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Mr. Jamie Dooley
Elwood School
Band, Choir, and Music
815-423-5588 ex. 5070
Every year we collect pop tabs and turn them in to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. We recently dropped off 29 pounds! Let’s see how much we can collect throughout the year to turn in on the next dump day! Send tabs to school with your child. There is a collection bin outside of Mrs. DeMaso’s room (Room 9) where students can dump the tabs. Let’s watch our collection grow!
We are looking for
Substitutes!!
Teachers and Aides (Paraprofessional)
What do you need to do??
Substitute Teacher: Hold a Bachelors Degree, register with the Regional Office of Education in
Joliet, complete a background check, and contact us to let us know!
Pay - $160/day
Substitute Aide (Paraprofessional): Have completed at least 60 Hours of College Credit (or
pass the Work Keys Exam), register with ISBE, complete a background check, and contact us to let us know you are interested and available!
Pay: $15.00/Hour
Questions??? Call (815) 423-5588
