GIBSON CITY — Property owners in the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley school district will likely be paying more in real estate taxes next year — but at a reduced tax rate.
Superintendent Jeremy Darnell presented the school board with a tentative version of the district’s proposed tax levy for 2025 — to be applied to next summer’s property tax collections — during the board’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the unit office in Gibson City.
The levy — which will be up for approval on Wednesday, Dec. 10, following a public hearing that starts at 6 p.m. at the unit office — calls for $12.2 million in taxes to be collected next summer, up by 6.6% from the $11.4 million collected this year. The taxes would be collected from the district’s landowners in Ford, Champaign, Livingston and McLean counties at a rate of $4.81 per $100 of assessed value.
Darnell said those estimates are based on an assumed 6% increase in the district’s equalized assessed value — to $241.2 million.
“That is based off of a verbal conversation with the assessor stating that there will be multiple townships that will be receiving a 5% multiplier on their property values,” Darnell said. “So I put a 6% overall assumption of increase. The effect of that increase will have our revenues increase by about $650,000, and it will take our tax rate from $5.03 to $4.81.”
If those numbers hold, this would mark the ninth time in the last 10 years that the district’s tax rate has been reduced, Darnell said. The increased EAV has allowed for that possibility, in addition to the district continuing to keep individual funds’ tax rates “flat” instead of raising them, Darnell added.
“We have the ability to raise or lower (the rate for each fund), but we kept all of those flat,” Darnell said. “Our education fund, which is the biggest one, is currently (taxed) at (a rate of) $3.40, while the maximum rate allowable is $3.60. By leaving that 20 cents on the table, we’re actually leaving $450,000 (in taxes that could be collected but are not). … The reason for that is we have to generate new revenue because our costs are going up, but we don’t need to generate all of the new revenue that’s available to us because the property values in our community are going up. So we’re generating (only) the revenue necessary to do our business.”
Darnell noted that, while keeping the tax rate down, the district continues to complete facility improvement projects using funds already on hand. The district’s fund balances continue to be “healthy,” too, Darnell said.
“It’s almost $4 million of fund balances to do the projects that we’re doing (this fiscal year),” Darnell noted, “so we’re going to have deficits in a couple of our funds because we saved that money in order to do these projects so that we didn’t have to affect the tax rate.”
The proposed levy shows $616,538 to be levied for bonds and interest — about the same amount as the $616,542 collected for that purpose this year — along with corporate and special-purpose taxes totaling $11,609,816, representing a 6.98% increase from the $10.852,716 collected for those purposes this year.
The school board’s personnel and finance committee met Oct. 14 for an initial review of the levy numbers, Darnell said.
Other business
Also during the board’s Oct. 29 meeting, held in the board room at the unit office at 307 N. Sangamon Ave.:
The board approved the annual audits for the school district and Ford County Special Education Cooperative for last fiscal year, as presented by Russell Leigh & Associates. “The GCMS audit was clean,” Darnell said. “The points of emphasis were: No. 1, very healthy fund balances; No. 2, great work on continuing to reduce the tax rate; and, No. 3, we are currently spending at about $800 less per student per year than the state median. So we are spending less than average on our kids to be able to get the services that they get, and our (tax) rate is continuing to decrease. … The auditor actually made the comment — he said, ‘What you guys have been able to do with your tax rate, with the reductions, is very, very rare in the state of Illinois.’”
The board approved the addition of blacktop replacement to next summer’s elementary school playground project at a cost of $103,640 through Byrne & Jones. The existing blacktop directly next to the large playground area is 35 years old, Darnell noted, making it no longer feasible to continue to repair it via crack-filling and sealing. “It’s got places where it’s got 3- and 4-inch gaps and cracks, and so when they go to replace the playground, they’re going to replace that blacktop, too,” Darnell said. “I think they’re starting demolition on that the first week of June.”
The board approved heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system updates through GRP Wegman at a cost of $603,540. Of that amount, $430,000 will cover the replacement of the middle school’s chiller and heater, while the remaining $175,000 or so will cover the replacement of the elementary school’s three smaller rooftop units, Darnell said. “The middle school is still operating on its original chiller, which is 26 years old,” Darnell noted. “It broke down and was out of service last May for two weeks, but the problem is it’s 25 years old, so the parts are obsolete. So it’s actually running on 80% capacity right now because we can’t get replacement parts, so we have to replace it, the whole thing. … We have three small units on the elementary school that also have aged-out, and the cost of repair is getting greater than the cost of replacement.”
The board approved the hiring of several coaches for the 2025-26 school year, including Luke Stout as high school girls’ track coach, Nate Styck as high school junior varsity baseball coach, Caitlin Vaughn as eighth-grade girls’ volleyball coach, and Faith Bachtold and Chelsea Augsburger as seventh grade girls’ volleyball coaches, splitting the position’s stipend.
The board approved the resignation of Phil Whitehouse as a middle school volleyball coach, effective immediately.
The board approved the maternity leave request of instructional coach Sarah Rehberg.
The board approved elementary school computer science teacher Jeremiah Benison’s request for tuition reimbursement for a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
The board reviewed GCMS’s enrollment numbers for each of the four counties the district comprises, with Ford County accounting for 905 of the district’s 975 students, followed by Champaign (25), McLean (11) and Livingston (5). n Darnell presented information on the district’s employee health insurance rates for Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2026. Darnell said the district’s health insurance costs have increased by 13%, equating to $130,000.
Darnell said he attended the recent annual meeting of the joint review board for Gibson City’s four tax-increment financing (TIF) districts.
The board approved applying to the Illinois State Board of Education for a $50,000 school maintenance grant to help offset costs of the new elementary school playground project.
The board approved an updated bullying prevention policy and response plan, as required every two years.
The board approved the district’s e-learning plan, as required every three years, allowing the district to use e-learning days in lieu of in-class attendance.
The board approved the destruction of audio recordings of closed sessions dating through the end of April 2024.
The board approved a $100 donation from the Gibson City Masonic Lodge to the Kindness Club and a $1,540 anonymous donation to the high school girls’ basketball program.
The board approved a facility-use agreement allowing the Falcon youth wrestling program to use the gyms at the elementary and high schools from November through March.
The board approved several field trips, including a fifth-grade trip to the University of Illinois on Nov. 18, a fifth-grade trip to the Museum of Science and Industry on May 22, a trip to Illinois State University on Nov. 7, a class officer trip to the Jostens Renaissance Fair on Oct. 23, the high school chamber choir’s local caroling on Dec. 10, the high school chorus’ trip to Olivet Nazarene University on Nov. 15 and a fourth-grade trip to Springfield museums on May 20.
The board approved a new calendar of regular board meetings for 2025. The calendar shows 10 regular meetings, mirroring the frequency in this year’s schedule. Meetings will be at 6:15 p.m. in the board room in the unit office at 307 N. Sangamon Ave. in Gibson City on the Wednesdays of Jan. 21, Feb. 18, March 18, April 15, May 20, June 24, Aug. 12, Sept. 30, Nov. 4 and Dec. 9. The new calendar replaces a previously approved version that needed “one adjustment,” Darnell said.
During public comment, three of GCMS High School’s four senior class officers presented information on their senior-year experiences to date and their future plans as individuals and collectively upon graduation. Class Secretary Chloe Tjarks spoke about the multitude of opportunities that she has had as a class officer, as well as in Future Business Leaders of America, Advanced Placement/dual-credit classes and other activities. Tjarks will graduate with 24 college credits through GCMS and “great work experience” through Gibson Area Hospital, Darnell said. Class Vice President Ethan Lowe spoke about his move to GCMS last school year and how he appreciates the investment he receives from staff “as a person and not just a student,” Darnell said. Secretary of Student Affairs Dominick Bond shared his appreciation for his experiences through the high school’s work co-op program in partnership with Gibson Area Hospital. “All of the kids are looking forward to graduation and appreciate how much they have grown and matured in the last four years,” Darnell said. Not present was class President Alex Barnard.
Instructional coaches Ashley Schwenk and Sarah Rehberg modeled an instructional coaching cycle for the board and audience, with Assistant Superintendent Erin Nuss acting as the teacher. “The instructional coaches work with staff every day to reflect, refine and advance their instructional practices to better serve the student of GCMS,” Darnell said. “GCMS is in the third year of employing these positions, and the impact on teaching and learning has been terrific, specifically with increased performance in English/language arts.”
The board heard reports from Darnell, high school Principal Kyle Bielfeldt, middle school Principal Kent Nash, elementary school Principal Justin Kean, special education director Jesse McFarling, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Erin Nuss, Director of Instructional Technology Walker Willis and Director of Student Services A.J. Richard.