District 41 has been experiencing increasing overcrowding for several years, and a recent demographic study says that steady growth will continue. When school opens in August, the district expects to have 590 students housed in 26 portable classrooms. A task force that studied the issue noted that there were two causes of overcrowding: increased numbers of students and increased needs, such as for bilingual classes. The task force recommended that the district build a new school, renovate its existing schools and restructure its schools into four K-4 elementary schools, one 5-6 school and one 7-8 school. This plan would alleviate crowding, provide educational and developmental advantages to all students and provide an equitable educational experience across the district.

The site plans that residents reviewed are “test fits” developed to provide an idea of how well each site could accommodate a building of a given size. The plans are conceptual only.

The Hadley option shows a new 900-student school on the west end of the campus in addition to Hadley. Overall, the increase in students on the site would be about 450 students. The two schools would flank a track with underground parking beneath it. District architects explained that while underground parking is costly, it is less expensive than trying to acquire additional land needed to accommodate it and preserves green space for sports. The plans showed re-working of the traffic flow in order to accommodate the additional bus, car and pedestrian traffic.

The Spalding option shows a 900-student school. The original Spalding School, which has been demolished, was a small neighborhood school. The five-acre site is too small for the size school needed today and the proposal includes adjacent lots that the district would have to acquire from homeowners. Those homeowners who might be affected had been notified the previous week that their properties were the subject of interest by the district.

The Main Street option, which has not been approved by the Park District, would mean two new, smaller schools—one at Main Street and one at Spalding—because the Main Street site is too small to accommodate the size school needed. The buildings would be joint facilities. The Park District has agreed to ongoing discussions on a plan involving Main Street, but has not indicated to the district whether it is in favor of it.

District 41 has been working with the Park District for many months in the hopes of collaborating to meet mutual needs. Upon review of various plans, the Park District has said it will not support any plan involving Ackerman. It declined to comment one way or another on the district’s Main St. proposals, saying it needed construction, financing and valuation details as well as a cost-benefit analysis for its involvement.

The district will continue to use resident feedback in its planning process and to provide information to the Board of Education, which in December will decide whether to ask for funds for a new building with a March, 2006 referendum.