At the September 23 Board of Education meeting, Elmhurst District 205 leaders presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, the culmination of more than six months of careful planning, analysis, and collaboration. The budget, which covers the period from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, reflects the district’s ongoing commitment to maintaining high-quality educational programs, supporting exceptional facilities, and ensuring long-term financial stability.
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Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Joe Blomquist explained that the district’s approach centers on sustainability and thoughtful stewardship of resources. Throughout the budgeting process, the goal has been to identify efficiencies that protect a strong fund balance while continuing to invest in classrooms, programs, and infrastructure that directly support student learning and staff success.
Preliminary, unaudited results from Fiscal Year 2025 indicate that the district achieved approximately $5 million in savings compared to budget projections. Although the district operated with a planned deficit, it did so intentionally to complete the final $7 million installment of a three-year, $21 million commitment toward referendum-related projects. Those investments have enhanced school facilities across the community and helped align spaces with modern learning needs. In addition, the district continues to allocate $4 million each year toward capital
4 MILLION OF OPERATING FUNDS Allocated each year toward capital projects and life safety improvements July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026
75% Of total spending represented by salaries and benefits
Local revenue remains the foundation of District 205’s financial structure, accounting for approximately 91 percent of total income through property taxes, registration fees, and other local sources. Blomquist noted that state and federal funding levels are expected to decrease modestly due to reductions in grants and categorical payments, and that the recent Federal Reserve rate cut may slightly reduce earnings on district investments.
On the expenditure side, salaries and benefits continue to represent roughly 75 percent of total spending, underscoring the district’s commitment to attract, continuously develop, and retain high-quality, purpose-driven educators to serve the diverse needs of all students.
91%
Purchase services, including transportation, utilities, and other contractual expenses, are expected to increase around 7 percent, driven in part by market conditions. Supplies and equipment are projected to rise about 5 percent as the district continues to evaluate renewals and vendor options to identify cost savings.
The district’s overall financial position remains strong. The Fiscal Year 2026 budget includes a $4 million transfer to support ongoing capital and life safety projects, ensuring that facilities remain safe, modern, and conducive to student growth. The district’s balanced and forward-looking approach continues to position Elmhurst D205 for sustained success in the years ahead.
The Illinois State Board of Education recently released their financial profiles for school districts based on financials from the 2024 school year. Elmhurst School District 205 has returned to the highest rating of Recognition. The 2024–25 Elmhurst District 205 financial results reflect the district’s strong commitment to long-term financial stability and educational excellence.
Additionally, District 205 has maintained an exceptional AA+ bond rating from S&P, a symbol of financial stability and strength, indicating that Elmhurst School District 205 is highly creditworthy and poses minimal risk to investors. Such a prestigious rating is not easily achieved and requires a consistent and disciplined approach to budget management.
These results highlight the district’s continued fiscal responsibility and strategic investments to support student success. District 205 administration will continue prioritizing fund balance sustainability, program longevity, and facility upkeep through capital investments, ensuring that our investments today remain strong tomorrow. We will also continue to monitor all spending and financial decisions to track and monitor progress so we remain in the highest tiers of financial profiles.
The complete Fiscal Year 2026 budget and program details are available for public review on the District 205 website.
When students walk into social studies classrooms across Elmhurst District 205, the scene looks very different than it once did. Instead of quiet rows and textbook reading, there is movement, discussion, and a steady buzz of curiosity. The shift comes from InquirEd, an inquiry-based curriculum that is reshaping how teachers teach and how students learn across grades K-6.
At Churchville Middle School, sixth-grade teacher Danielle Carney said the difference is immediately noticeable. Each semester begins with an overarching inquiry question divided into smaller modules that guide student learning. “InquirEd provides a semester-long inquiry question, and it is divided up into eight modules, and every module also has an essential question,” she explained. “The students work for about two to three weeks, exploring the resources, investigating the resources to try and answer that essential question.”
Carney said her students now read and write with purpose. Every activity has a clear goal, which encourages deeper engagement. “The students are given a task beforehand that they have to accomplish during the reading,” she said. “So they’re having to think while they’re reading, which really helps them engage with the materials.”
At Edison Elementary, fifth-grade teacher Peter Richey has seen a similar transformation. Having taught middle school before, he knew what a more traditional social studies classroom looked like, one focused on memorization. Now, he said, his students are thinking beyond the facts. “We’re not just talking about facts,” he said.
“It’s not memorizing dates and events and people. Now it’s more about getting into the actual concept of what does this do, what is it implying, what were the end results that we still feel the effects of today.”
Richey said his students are far more engaged because they are given the space to explore ideas and challenge one another. “Students are so much more engaged in the learning and the conversations than before,” he said. They make connections across time periods and between groups of people. During activities like the Hexagon challenge, students debate how historical events and ideas fit together. “You’re really starting to see this deeper level of understanding and thinking,” Richey said.
The program has also strengthened inquiry and problem-solving skills. Richey said students are developing the ability to ask questions, analyze evidence, and take informed action. “It helps create citizens that see a problem and will come up with a solution for that problem,” he said.
The shift to InquirEd came after the Illinois State Board of Education adopted revised social studies standards in 2022 that emphasized inquiry-based learning, as well as the recent additions to Illinois’ mandated units of study.
Colleen Gjataj, the district’s Director of Literacy Pathways, said Elmhurst 205 saw an opportunity to align with the new standards and mandates while giving students a richer experience. “At that time, teachers were using some teachercreated materials,” she said. “In order to really help support teachers make those instructional shifts to this integration of both inquiry and disciplinary knowledge, the district went through a process where we looked at a variety of high-quality materials. Ultimately, InquirEd was the top curricular choice.”
Gjataj said the curriculum connects learning to real life. “Students really get excited about not only what they’re learning, but how it applies to them in their life,” she said. “It gives them that opportunity to figure out what history has taught us, how they apply that to the current situations in the world today, and ultimately makes them a better, more prepared global citizen.”
For Katie Lyons, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, InquirEd has done more than change instruction. It has united teachers across grade levels. “InquirEd has fostered collaboration amongst teachers, first and foremost in the fact that it provides a coherent approach to inquiry-based instruction,” she said. Teachers plan together, review student work, and share strategies for guiding students through complex questions.
Lyons said the approach has deepened both student and teacher learning. “Unlike the way that we may have learned social studies in the past, InquirEd really fosters research-based and critical thinking skills,” she said. “Students aren’t just memorizing facts, it’s much more about the application of the research they’ve been engaging in throughout that inquiry.”
The district has already seen the impact in student outcomes. Since adoption in 2022, ELA scores on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness have climbed, with increases of five percent in grades three through five and nineteen percent in grades six through eight. Lyons said that is no coincidence.
“Walking into an InquirEd classroom is a joyful experience,” she said. “Students build knowledge of a compelling topic, discuss their ideas with one another, and collaborate to form action plans that ultimately support them in transferring the knowledge to make sense of real-world events.”
Across Elmhurst 205, social studies classrooms have become places where history lives and breathes, where students are not just learning about the past but learning from it.
Nicole Noverini has been named our most recent Excellent Educator! Nicole is a fourth grade teacher at Jackson Elementary School. She enjoys getting to know her students during their learning journey and helping them develop skills they get to use for the rest of their lives.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has released the latest State Report Cards, showcasing notable increases in proficiency for District 205 students.
Students in grades 3-8 have again achieved the highest proficiency levels in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) since the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) was introduced in 2018.
This year was the first year that Juniors took the ACT instead of the SAT. The state report card reports the junior class’s ACT scores, which showed that York High School juniors have demonstrated a 12% increase in English Language Arts proficiency based on the new Illinois State Benchmark and a 10% increase in the College & Career Readiness Proficiency Benchmark.
York High School juniors saw a 7% increase in Math Illinois State Benchmark and a 6% increase in Math proficiency as measured by the College & Career Readiness Benchmarks. In addition, York Community High School has reported a substantial 18.5% drop in chronic absenteeism when compared to the 2023 school year.
Also highlighted in the report is the increased progress in language proficiency for English Learners (ELs) across all grade levels. This progress, measured through the ACCESS assessment, underscores the district’s commitment to meeting the needs of EL students and fostering language growth throughout their academic journey. This year, there were more students who scored at the proficient level than in any previous year. Notably, York High School experienced an 8% increase year over year in proficiency levels.
“This year’s data tells a powerful story of growth, purpose, and partnership,” said Dr. Keisha Campbell, Superintendent.
“Our students are achieving at higher levels than ever before, our schools are being recognized statewide for excellence, and our community’s investment in education continues to show remarkable results.
These improvements demonstrate that when we come together around shared community values, attract and retain purpose-driven educators, and pair quality teaching and learning with high expectations, success follows . ”
The progress shared in this year’s Illinois State Report Card reflects measurable success in alignment with the D205 Student Journey of Excellence. It also highlights areas of continued opportunity, including math proficiency in grades 6-12 as well as accelerating math growth for multilingual learners, students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and those from economically diverse backgrounds in D205.
“We are a district that remains on an upward trajectory,” shared Dr. Campbell. “We will continue to refine our systems and elevate the student experience. Our story is one of progress and purpose and it’s written by every student who walks through our doors each day. As we look ahead, we remain grounded in our Mission and Vision to educate, engage, and empower all students to be college, career, and life ready.”
In addition to improved IAR results and EL Progress, the district’s composite graduation rate rose to 94.6%, a metric that impacts 50% of high school summative designations. The District’s Freshmen-On-Track rate, weighted at 8.33% of high school designations, increased to 98% - the highest received by District 205 since recording began in 2017-2018.
Elmhurst District 205 is proud to announce that all District 205 schools once again earned the State’s top two designations of Exemplary or Commendable. This year marks the highest number of D205 schools ever to receive the Exemplary designation, a testament to the District’s longstanding commitment to academic excellence and continuous improvement.
The State Report Card offers a detailed view of school performance across several areas, including student success, academics, school climate, and financial investment.
