
What’s Taxed and What’s Not Under the One-Cent Tax Proposal
Did you know? The one-cent tax proposed for McLean County only applies to items that are currently subject to Illinois sales tax. Here’s what won’t be taxed:
🍞 Groceries / Unprepared Food
💊 Prescription medications
🚗 Vehicles (cars, trucks, boats, RVs, mobile homes)
🚜 Farm equipment, parts, and inputs
💈 Personal/professional services (haircuts, accounting, legal services, etc.)
📊 Wholesale purchases
What will be taxed? Only items that are currently taxed under Illinois law. For example:
🍜 Prepared foods
📺 Retail purchases (clothing, electronics, etc.)
📦 Online sales
If approved, this tax will help fund critical improvements for our schools while minimizing impact on essential purchases. Learn more about how these funds would impact our school community by attending our community information meeting on March 10th @ 5:00 p.m. in the Media Center at Olympia High School, visiting our webpage www.april1cent.info or contacting us directly.





We had a great turn out for Family Reading Night! Thanks to everyone who could come out.









🗣️Community Meeting Tonight!📅
Our community meeting to discuss the One Cent Tax referendum will be held tonight. Join us to learn more and ask questions.
📍
Tonight! March 10th, 5 PM, OHS Media Center
RSVP and details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/958190719740166


🗣️Upcoming Meeting📅
Join us this month as we share information on the One-Cent Tax referendum. Learn more and ask questions!
📍Meeting:
March 10th, 5 PM, OHS Media Center
RSVP and details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/958190719740166
#april1cent


Did you know? When you shop in other counties, you may already be contributing to their local schools. Many neighboring counties, including Sangamon, Peoria, Champaign, Logan and Macon, already have the one-cent tax. Now, McLean County voters will determine if the tax is approved for local schools.
If approved, the proposed One-Cent Tax will provide funding for safety upgrades, facility improvements, and property tax stabilization.
Learn more about the sales tax by attending our community information meeting on March 10th @ 5:00 p.m., visiting our webpage www.april1cent.info or contacting us directly
#april1cent


Rooms Notifications; Stay In The Know!
Once you are all set up in Rooms, make sure that you turn your app notifications on so that you don't have to open the app to check for messages. Follow the steps in the image to get prepared!


Hello March!
Please note the change regarding PreK attendance on March 12. Due to the snowday in February, PM PreK will attend instead of AM PreK.


460 Olympia guardians have accepted their invite and joined Rooms. Now it's your turn!
Check your inbox for an email from @edurooms.com, click "create a password", and connect your account with your student. Finish your registration by creating a unique password. Download our Olympia CUSD 16 app, toggle over to "Classes", and sign in using the account you just created!
Now enjoy the ability to message back and forth with teachers and activity leaders no matter the grade level or activity they participate in!


Yearbook Orders close TODAY!


Our brains are great at using past experiences to make quick decisions on the fly, but these shortcuts can also lead to bias. "Confirmation bias" is our brain's tendency to seek out information that confirms things we already think we know. Help your students learn to recognize this when they encounter news online, as a way to examine competing opinions and ideas and to avoid drawing questionable conclusions.


Mark your calendars for Family Reading Night! You will not want to miss this fun family event, but we need your help! We are looking for magazines and recycylable materials (toilet paper/paper towel rolls, plastic containers, paper/plastic cups, milk, juice and egg cartons, cans, plastic bottles, etc.) for a project students & families will be working on that evening. If you have any of these items, please send them into school with your student! Thank you!


Family Tip Sheet: bit.ly/OlyNMFR2
Wikipedia.org is where millions of people stop first for information. Tools like it are what make the internet so valuable. But they also teach an important lesson, one you can start teaching your kids now: don’t believe everything you read.


Sharing the Investment
Did you know? Approximately 35% of purchases in McLean County are made by visitors and travelers.
If the One-Cent Tax is approved, revenue from these purchases will directly support our local schools—helping fund safety improvements, facility upgrades, and property tax stabilization.
This means non-residents contribute to our schools, easing the financial burden on McLean County property taxpayers while ensuring our students and community benefit.
Learn more about the sales tax referendum by attending our community information meeting on March 10th @ 5:00 p.m. in the Media Center at Olympia High School, visiting our webpage www.april1cent.info or contacting us directly.
#april1cent


Check out this list of trustworthy resources to help you learn what's true (and what is not!) on the web. You can even use one of them to look back in time and what was on a website in the past!

Yearbook Orders are due FRIDAY! See ordering information below!


Say hello to two-way messaging and classroom announcements in the Olympia CUSD 16 app! With the addition of Rooms, our district app keeps getting better. Parents/guardians check your email/text for instructions to sign up and access new features.


Show your children how you get news and information from different places, and explain how you make your choices. Use words like "credible," "trustworthy," "respected," and "fair." Ask them where they get their information, and if they think about those same words when choosing. As kids get older, introduce the ideas of bias, satire, and clickbait.


Yearbook orders are due by this Friday, February 28. See below for ordering information.


How Do I Make Sure I Am Invited To Rooms?
Each parent needs to have a unique email address or a phone number that is classified as “Cellular” associated with their account.
You can add an email address in Skyward Family Access on your own using the My Account menu. If you do not have access to Skyward, please contact your school’s office and they will work with you to update your information.
If you do not have an email address in the system, you must have a unique Cellular phone number to receive the invite. If you only have the default "phone" number, it will not pull into Rooms. You need to have a number that is identified as “Cell”. If your default phone number is your cellular phone number, you should repeat it and identify it as “Cell” using the drop down box.
See more details on our Rooms FAQ website here: https://www.olympia.org/page/rooms-faq


Congratulations to Nicole from our Transportation Department as she received a dozen cookies from Sprinkled with Love for our "Fresh Cookie Friday" event. Sam from Food Service was also a winner of a dozen delicious cookies. Thank you ladies for all you do for Olympia!