The District 428 School Board meeting got off to a somber start Tuesday night as the suspensions of two students were upheld.

The meeting started 15 minutes late because of a closed-session discussion of those disciplinary issues.

Board Member Tia Robinson voted against upholding the suspension of one unnamed student. The board seemed troubled by the discussion.

Discussing a tax increase

The board’s attention then shifted to several presentations.

During a presentation of tax levy estimates, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance MeriAnn Besonen explained the budget cycle from year to year.

“Anyone who owns an existing home can anticipate a 3.3-percent increase in their taxes,” Besonen said.

The board passed a motion 6 to 0 that approved the estimates.

A public hearing on tax levies will take place at the Nov. 15 board meeting and adoption should occur at the Dec. 13 meeting.

The discussion then shifted to the negative impact of tax caps and how they would affect the district in light of recent growth.

“Districts east of us started tax caps in the late 1990s and are running into problems now,” Besonen said. “We started [tax caps] in 2000 and we are trying to learn from what these districts are going through.”

School improvement plans

Presentations were also given on the School Improvement Plans for Malta and Lincoln elementary schools.

Principals from both schools stated they had 100-percent participation in their parent-teacher conferences.

This year, earlier results also allowed teachers to go through Illinois Student Achievement Test scores with parents at their conferences, said Malta Principal Connie Rohlman.

“Staff did a great job of getting parents in,” said Lincoln Elementary Principal Tom Burski.

Malta Elementary has a primary and intermediate program that pairs students of different ages together, Rohlman said.

Malta has also started its extended day program with 47 of the 50 invited students attending.

Lincoln Elementary will start its extended day program in January, Burski said. DeKalb High School’s Interact Club will come in to help with after-school homework and reading programs.

“We have some really high quality students coming in from the high school,” Burski said.

In community-related news, Bob Kyler Excavating donated work and gravel for the Wright Elementary School playground and Mike Kyler received recognition from the board for the company’s contribution.