LeRoy CUSD #2 Quarterly Newsletter
Our Student Achievement
Elementary School
Our elementary staff has been working hard over the past year developing systems for positive behavior reinforcement. This year they kicked off ROAR – Respectful, On Task, Attitude, and Responsible — core values that help build a positive and supportive school culture. Through ROAR, students are encouraged to demonstrate our Habits of Success in their daily actions. Positive behaviors are recognized and rewarded with Panther Paw tickets, reinforcing the importance of good character and consistent effort. Each week, students who receive tickets are entered in a drawing for prizes. The vast majority of our students consistently meet expectations. Rather than focusing solely on correcting unwanted behaviors, this is a shift to celebrate and reinforce positive behaviors in the building.
Junior High School
Congratulations to our softball and baseball teams on outstanding seasons! Our softball team finished their season 22-4 with a trip to the IESA State Finals. The baseball team finished 16-4, just one game short of the state finals in one of the best seasons in program history. Both teams were Regional Champions and Softball was also Sectional Champion.
High School
Our Key Club was recently highlighted in a Key Club Newsletter for their number of involved participants and supported community events. This year's Key Club has 90 active members out of a high school enrollment of 230 students. Key Club is an arm of our local Kiwanis and they help with a variety of community service events, including helping with pork chop sales to raise money for Kiwanis charities and their annual blood drive.
The Agriculture program began a Sustainable Foods class last year in cooperation with the University of Illinois. LeRoy was the first and only school in the partnership, which awards college dual credit to students through the U of I. This year there are only two schools in the program with the other being suburban Crete Monee.
Speaking of college dual credit, we currently have 24 students taking 53 dual credit classes through Parkland College. In addition, most of our students who attend the Bloomington Career Academy (BCA) also receive college dual credit.
LeRoy Preparatory Academy
The LPA has begun harvesting and cleaning up their garden. Last year, they were the recipient of a grant through the University of Illinois Extension that allowed them to expand their garden. A tall border pollinator garden with 12 different types of plants flanks their fruit and vegetable garden that includes okra, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, basil, cilantro, parsley, kale, broccoli, mint, and much more. LPA serves as an alternative learning setting for LeRoy students and area districts. The LPA prides itself on providing an alternative to the standard public school experience. Specifically, we meet students where they are academically, socially and behaviorally in order to provide an appropriate education that results in either successful transition back to their home school or graduating with a diploma upon completion of State of Illinois requirements.
Our Finance
By now, everyone should have their correct McLean County Property Value Notices. As mentioned in an earlier message, 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.
Our Facilities
Although it is early in the school year, 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.
Our Community Relations
Our focus will be on effective communication, consistency in decision-making processes, and transparency.
Download the LeRoy CUSD #2 App on your Apple or Android Device by searching LeRoy CUSD#2 in the App Store. View live social media feeds, events calendar, athletics, breakfast and lunch menus, and notifications through push messaging.
Check out the LeRoy CUSD #2 Website for everything LeRoy Schools
Like and Join LeRoy CUSD #2 on Facebook
Follow @LeRoyCUSD2 on Twitter X
Thank you for your continued support of LeRoy Schools!
Jeff Baughman
Superintendent