Dear Families and Community Members:

At the start of this school year, we experienced quite a few maintenance issues and I promised that I would keep you informed as we sought plans to take care of our facilities and ensure safe and suitable learning environments for our children. Today I want to update you on our progress and initiatives.

Fiscal Forecasting:

Mindy Bradford, our district treasurer, has been leading a process to update our financial planning procedures with long-range fiscal forecasting tools. Our expert staff has analyzed where the district’s revenue is coming from, how it is likely to change over time, and where current expenditures are going. This will help us align our current finances with our district goals and needs and implement changes, in the long run.

We have a projected balanced budget for the FY24 school year despite rising inflation and growing maintenance costs without cutting services to students. Difficult decisions have been made to reduce department budgets and make necessary cuts to balance the budget. The majority of the cuts are coming from the District Administrative Center keeping the cuts as far away from classrooms as possible. It is important to note that 86% of our revenue is generated through local taxes, and 68% of our expenditures are staff salaries and benefits. We have identified $800,000 in critical maintenance costs this year, which are being taken care of through cost reductions and reserve cash balances.

Maintenance Planning:

Our facilities belong to our community, and it is our responsibility to maintain and care for them. Over the past ten years, the district has funded projects from its budget including classroom updates, improved ventilation, added solar energy, and enhanced security, among other things.

This year, the district has identified additional work that needs to be done, including roofing, flooring, mechanicals, and HVAC. It is clear, our district needs to take a strategic and comprehensive approach to our maintenance planning. We have hired a district architect and construction management firm to conduct an educational assessment of our facilities and work collaboratively with our staff and community to develop a ten-year master facility plan to help guide and prioritize work ahead. The plan will be developed over the next six to eight months.

We are continuing to operate in a strong financial position, we’ll keep an eye on saving taxpayer dollars while also continuing to provide a high-quality learning experience to our students. Together and through our community’s partnership on our master facility plans, I am confident we will be able to continue to provide the experience our students need to succeed.

Shine Bright,

Rebecca

Rebecca A. Jenkins

Superintendent of Schools

Libertyville School District 70

rjenkins@d70schools.org

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This is the last chance to complete the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) 5Essentials Survey to share your thoughts and impressions regarding the school(s) your child(ren) is enrolled in before the survey closes on Friday, March 31.

Thank you to the parents and guardians who completed the 5Essentials Survey this year. If 20 percent of families at each school respond, each school will receive a report of parent comments. There still is time to take the survey for those who have not taken it. Your voice is important and can be heard through this survey.

The survey only takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. ISBE and 5Essentials also recommend that parents who have children enrolled in multiple schools participate in the survey for each school. Under these same guidelines, only one parent per household may participate in the survey.

Parent identities will be kept confidential and responses will not be linked to any individual. Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to complete this survey as your voice matters.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is crucial in schools because it helps children develop a range of skills, including empathy, communication, and problem-solving, which are vital for success in all areas of life.

Our CORE competencies in SEL are:

• Self-Awareness—My recognition of who I am, what I need, and how I feel relative to the world around me.

• Self-Management—My ability to manage my emotions and behaviors, to complete a task or succeed in a challenging situation.

• Social Awareness—My demonstration of consideration for others and a desire to positively contribute to my community.

• Relationship Skills—My ability to use positive communication and social skills to interact effectively with others.

• Decision Making—My approach to problem-solving involves learning from others, from past experiences and using my values to guide my action, and accepting responsibility for my decisions.

By reinforcing SEL skills at home, loved ones can help their children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Here are two activities that you can do at home to connect with your children.

1. Emotion check-ins: Set aside time each day to ask your child how they are feeling, and encourage them to share their emotions with you. Validate their feelings and discuss healthy ways to manage them.
2. Role-playing: Use role-playing to help your child practice different social scenarios, such as resolving conflicts or standing up to bullying. For example scenarios, check this out!

This week we wrapped up the second portion of our Run, Hide, Fight training with the staff. All schools have now hosted the Libertyville Police Department for this important training. We will continue to build upon this training each year in our commitment to keeping students and staff safe. Thank you to Chief Roncone, SRO Camilo, Detective Davis, and Officer Yarc of the Libertyville Police Department for their time and efforts to train our D70 staff. This is an incredible partnership!

Just a reminder that registration is now open for current students to re-enroll, as well as new enrollment for fall kindergarten students.

• For returning students (students now enrolled in D70), log onto PowerSchool here. Click on "School Forms" and proceed to complete Student Registration. Directions also can be found on the D70 website under Department, Student Registration, to Re-Enrollment for Current Students.
  

• Once you've clicked on School Forms, proceed to update and complete all requested information for your student.

  • If you have more than one child, select a child’s name from the bar just below the PowerSchool logo, then click the SchoolForms icon.

  • Verify that all pre-populated information is correct and enter any remaining information necessary to complete your student's registration.

  • Registration for each child in the family must be completed separately through the PowerSchool parent portal.

• For new kindergarten or new student enrollment, go to the D70 website (d70schools.org), click on Department, then Student Registration, to New Kindergarten, New Student Registration to Pre-Registration Form. Follow the procedure.
• To register for D70's Little Learners Preschool, contact the registrar at registrar@d70schools.org.

Any questions, contact the D70 registrar by calling 847-362-9695 or emailing registrar@d70schools.org.