Superintendent's Message
SUPERINTENDENT STATE OF THE SCHOOLS ADDRESS 2025
We are well into the second half of the 2024-2025 school year which has been full of great opportunities for our students to get into the community and to invite members of the community into our schools. This is one of our goals and one of the best ways to nurture those important School/Community connections. Here are a few examples that have taken place during the first semester of the school year.
The first annual Leighton Pancake Breakfast hosted 300+ community members who enjoyed breakfast and student-led tours to Leighton’s Nature Trail, Gardens, and Dock. Craddock Staff held a Veterans’ Day Celebration on November 11th. Veterans from all branches of the military filled half the gym with the students occupying the other half. Veterans were then honored and entertained with a few songs from the kids. Harmon’s Student Council collected 582 coats for their Coats for Kids drive benefiting families in Portage County. In Aurora High School, the AHS Interact Club held its Rake & Run event. Sixty students woke up on a Saturday to help over fifty senior citizen members of Aurora clear their yards of leaves. This is always a well-received service from the schools to the community. These connections were further nurtured through the newly formed AHS Cybersecurity Advisory Council. The council, composed of 16 individuals from local tech companies, universities, city representatives, and ACSD Staff, collaborates to support cybersecurity instructor Nick Kukarola design meaningful experiences in this class including various “challenges,” guest speakers, and potential internships/shadowing. Lastly, it is important to recognize the entire Aurora Community who came together to help raise donations for the Leighton Interactive Playground which opened this past Fall. This playground allows students with disabilities to play with typical peers on the same equipment while at recess.
Renewal Levy
Speaking of continued support, the schools will be asking for the community’s support this May in the form of a 5.61 Mill renewal operating levy. This levy will add NO NEW TAXES but will provide important funds that will allow the district to maintain the offerings and opportunities for young people attending the Aurora Schools. This levy was first put on the ballot and approved in 1990 and has been renewed six times (every five years) over the past 35 years. The last time this levy was renewed was in March 2020. It will cost the owner of a home less than when it was first approved because since 1990 more homes have been built in Aurora yet the same amount of funds are collected upon each renewal. However, it is important to remember that the community has provided funds for this levy for the last 35 years so it is NOT a new tax and therefore, if approved, will not increase your taxes.