Panther Families,
After three full weeks of school, hopefully everyone is settled into the start of the year. From our point of view, the year is off to a great start! Make sure you get out to support all of our Panthers in their sports and activities. Our Junior High Baseball and Softball teams are having great seasons with their postseasons just around the corner. The High School seasons are just getting underway with a lot of opportunities to see them this fall.
Our Community Relations - It’s Different Here
Over the summer, during one of our administrative team meetings, we began talking about a unifying theme for the year. We were excited for the new school year and really wanted to create a positive vibe to kick off the year. Our goal was to tie together our Vision of Involved Community, Competitive Students and Productive Citizens with our Habits of Success and Profile of a Graduate. We even thought about making t-shirts with those logos or something along the lines of “We Are LeRoy”, but we felt like we needed something fresh.
We began talking about what makes LeRoy special. Each of us noted that we regularly hear “LeRoy is different” or when new students and families come to LeRoy or people pass through for events they often say “It’s different here”. That last statement really stuck with us. There are things we do that are really unique that aren’t done at other places or maybe that we just do in a unique way. Then we came across a Chicago Cubs logo that stated “It’s Different Here”. And that was it.
You hear a lot of negativity in public education. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that only 33% of all Illinois 4th graders read at grade level last year, but 85% of all LeRoy students read at or above grade level. You hear about extreme behavior issues, schools that are falling apart culturally, and schools that are not supported by the Board or community. But we don’t see that here. We have a really supportive community and a great school Board that allows us to be unique. Sure we don’t get everything right all the time. We’re all human. But we’re all here working in the best interest of students every day. We have great teachers and families, and absolutely amazing kids.
We believe in focusing on the positive while always trying to get better. But we think it’s pretty unique here. So when someone asks you about LeRoy or what makes us special, just tell them It’s Different Here. You really can’t explain it. You have to experience it.
Our Student Achievement
At Le Roy CUSD #2, we do not believe any single assessment - whether state or local - defines a child’s academic ability or potential. We do believe academic assessment data is one piece of the pie that helps inform the whole child’s Profile of a Graduate.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will soon release results from last year’s state assessments. While these assessments provide some insight, they represent a single snapshot in time with delayed feedback. In contracts, our students participate in the learning standards aligned Renaissance Star Assessment three times per year, giving us real-time data to monitor achievement, track growth, and provide specific timely interventions. We had our complete reports at the end of last year, and students and teachers are already working from this year’s baseline data - all while we wait for state assessment results.
2024-25 Grades 3-8
Reading Achievement: 85% at or above grade level
Reading Growth: 84% normal or above normal growth
Math Achievement: 89% at or above grade level
Math Growth: 88% normal or above normal growth
Our Finance
Many of you have likely received McLean County Property Value Notices. The county continues to experience unprecedented property value growth of 8-12% annually over the past three years, compared to a historic average of around 3%. This year, residential property values are expected to rise another 10%.
As a district, we remain committed to balancing two responsibilities: Providing high-quality services for our students while also being good stewards of taxpayer (investors in our schools) dollars. Even as property values have risen, LeRoy CUSD #2 has lowered the school district tax rate for five consecutive years.
While we do not have an impact on property values, as promised we will use CSFT revenue to lower our property tax rate. We will also closely examine our variable tax rates and levy based on our known liability. This will likely allow us to abate more of our tax rate than we estimated with the CSFT. We will lower our tax rate to the lowest level in 25 years. More information will be coming soon about this year’s McLean County taxing process.
Our Facilities
Although the school year is just beginning, we are already preparing for facility improvements next summer. Following the successful passage of the CSFT last spring, we further developed our existing long-term facility plan into a more robust living document that helps us prioritize projects, communicate progress, and remain flexible as needs evolve.
The first major project funded through CSFT revenue will be the abatement of existing asbestos tile hallway flooring in part of the elementary school, with all hallway flooring replaced by new LVT tile. Planning for this project is underway, with work anticipated for the summer of 2026. Our Long-Term Facility Plan will continue to be updated on our CSFT Dashboard on the district website.
Jeff Baughman
Superintendent
Go Panthers!
Key August Dates
September 22 - Homecoming Week
Volleyball at Home
September 23
HOIC Golf Tournament
Volleyball at Home
September 24
Coronation and Bonfire
September 25
Golf at Home
September 26
Homecoming Football Game
Involved Community - Competitive Students - Productive Citizens