| | December 4, 2006 |
| Boundary Public Meeting recap
At a public meeting held at Hadley Junior High on Nov. 30, the District 41 Boundary Advisory Committee presented information on its work so far, and gathered feedback from community members. The committee has been examining possible boundary adjustments to see if there are any that could alleviate overcrowding; its focus is the boundaries dividing school attendance zones, not the overall district perimeter. Although the committee presented details on several scenarios it feels may have promise, members stressed that work is still in progress and that the committee may examine other scenarios based on its analysis and on the feedback it has received. In the end, it could recommend no boundary changes, moderate changes or significant changes. Among the points the committee made was that all D41 schools are at or near capacity, all are using portable classrooms, and all are experiencing stress on their infrastructure. However, at this time, Abraham Lincoln and Churchill have a greater degree of crowding than Benjamin Franklin and Forest Glen.
Recognizing that families do not want to leave their current school, the committee is looking for a boundary adjustment that will provide sufficient relief over a long enough period of time to make the adjustment worthwhile. Adding complexity to the task are the uncertainties of future enrollment and of potential new housing. Whatever is or isn’t done to boundaries, the committee has said that given there are 588 children housed in 26 portable classrooms, the district will need to take other steps to manage its overcrowding, such as add more portables. Below is a summary of the adjustments presented at the meeting (maps and details are contained in the presentation. The committee noted that all scenarios presented leave at least 95% of students within their current school:
1. Do not adjust boundaries. This assumes that there is no clear benefit to be gained by adjusting boundaries.
2. Assign to Ben Franklin the area defined by Park Blvd. and Main St. south from the railroad tracks to Turner. This would reduce enrollment at Lincoln and increase it at Ben Franklin.
3. Assign to Ben Franklin the Hartz-Greenbrier subdivision. This would reduce enrollment at Lincoln and increase it at Ben Franklin
4. Assign to Ben Franklin the area from the Hartz-Greenbrier subdivision east to Main St., and north to North Ave. and the area west of Bloomingdale Rd. to the western boundary of the district (President St.) to Ben Franklin; assign to Forest Glen the Tanager pocket. These changes would reduce enrollment at Lincoln and Churchill and increase it at Ben Franklin and Forest Glen.
5. Assign to Forest Glen the area between Western Ave. and the DuPage River; assign to Ben Franklin the area east of the DuPage River. These adjustments would reduce enrollment at Lincoln and Churchill, increase it at Franklin and Forest Glen, and move some of the impact of anticipated growth caused by development to Ben Franklin.
The committee, made up of parent volunteers from each school, will meet on Dec. 7 and 14, 7:30 p.m. at the Central Services Office, 793 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn. Meetings are open to the public. The committee is on track to present a recommendation at the regular Board of Education meeting on Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m. The Board will not take action on the recommendation until its Jan. 22 meeting. To send comments to the committee, email boundaries@d41org.
|
Please direct your questions or comments to our Communications Director, Julie Worthen at jworthen@d41.org. We ask that you do not reply directly to this email. Thank you! | | |
|
|
|
