From December 19, 2025 board meeting
The Maroa-Forsyth CUSD#2 Board of Education held its Truth in Taxation Hearing at 6:30, followed by its regular monthly meeting on December 9th, 2025, in the Maroa-Forsyth High School Library.
Pledge of Allegiance
MFGS Student Council member Joseph Kinney led the meeting in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Good News
The board recognized the following individuals and groups for their outstanding accomplishments from the fall:
Klaire Eighner-All State XC
MFHS Volleyball Team-Sweet 16 appearance and back-to-back regional championships. Representing the team were Coach Petersen, Lainey Larner, and Adelyn Simmons. Jacy Ravenscraft was not able to attend, but was also a part of the volleyball captains group.
Illinois State Scholars: Klaire Eighner, Saarah Qureshit, Adelyn Simmons, and Isabella Donaker attended the meeting. Bianca Giles, Ian Fawley, and Avery Henderson were also honored but were not able to attend.
Truth in Taxation Hearing
Mr. Ibbotson went over the proposed and likely tax levy. The ask is for a 5.6% increase in the levy. This is often referred to as ballooning and is not a tax increase strategy. Still, it protects the district from unintentionally losing revenue due to the unknowns in the tax extension process. The proposed levy seeks to capture all growth in the district to account for uncertainty about the final assessed value and to capture any additional growth between now and when all assessed values are completed in the spring.
The tax assessor's office determines property values. The money the district receives is determined by multiplying the legal maximums by the EAV (Equalized Assessed Value). If the ballooned levy would exceed the allowable rate, the County Clerk would reduce the rate to the legal limit.
Mr. Ibbotson also presented the likely levy. This levy is based on historical data over a five-year trend. Based on the current EAV and data, the likely levy will result in a 3.12% growth and a tax rate of $4.434. Last year's final rate was $4.429. This stayed with the BOE's commitment to maintaining the tax rate from the referendum passed in the previous construction project.
There was no public comment or participation
The hearing was adjourned.
The regular meeting immediately followed the Truth in Taxation Hearing
Board Approvals
The board approved the following items in the consent agenda.
Approved the minutes of the regular and closed sessions from November 11th, 2025
Approved the minutes of the third session of strategic planning from November 6th, 2025
Approved the financial report.
Approved the bills as presented.
Approved the destruction of audio of closed session minutes 18 months or older.
Approved the Declaration of excess property.
Approved the Volunteer list as presented.
Approved the hiring of Andrea Morris as part-time night-time custodian and bus driver.
New Business
Approved the Tax Levy as presented: the board approved the tax levy as presented.
Mr. Ibbotson presented information on the Fund Balance Review for FY25. The district is required by law to conduct an annual review of operational funds over the prior three fiscal years. If the district’s combined cash reserve balance for its operational funds exceeds 2.5 times that three-year average expenditure, the district must file an operational funds reserve reduction plan. The district is well below that threshold.
The updated district risk management plan was approved.
The district will use IGS as its electricity supplier starting in March to help address rising electricity costs that put pressure on the district’s operations budget.
The board approved the strategic plan as presented. Mr. Ibbotson recognized the contributions of the Core Strategic Team (CST) members and their work on the plan. The final plan will be sent out once it is formatted and published. The following steps will implement the strategic plan, including action steps and measures to achieve the goals.
Richland Ready Prep Academy is an additional pathway for students to pursue dual credit opportunities. It provides a path to earning a high school diploma and an associate's degree upon high school completion. DPS 61 has been piloting this program and just graduated its first cohort. RCC is looking to expand this offering to 4 local county school districts, and Maroa-Forsyth is one of them. The district is working with RCC on more specifics for the program.
Old Business
Principal Board Reports –these were presented to the board for review.
School Board Conference: members shared their takeaways from sessions and information from the delegate assembly.
IASB Liaison – Report – Jill Feinstein shared information on upcoming IASB events in the winter and an update on the IASB strategic plan process.
The meeting was then adjourned.
With Trojan Pride,
Adam Ibbotson
Superintendent