Fix elementary schools or build anew? Lisle candidates weigh in
One candidate for school board in Lisle Unit District 202 says it could be time to build a new school to replace the district's aging elementaries, Schiesher and Tate Woods.
Incumbent Anne Blaeske says a new school is the district's best option because it could combine kindergarten through fifth-grade students in one building and avoid expensive ongoing repairs.
"My personal opinion, seeing the numbers, is we are better off building a new school," said Blaeske, an office manager in Lisle. "And then that way we do get the K through 5 together, the kids do not have to bounce back and fourth, we don't have parents rushing from one end of town to the other end trying to pick up their kids."
But not all of the four candidates seeking three seats in the April 7 election agree with Blaeske when it comes to the future of Schiesher and Tate Woods, which were built in 1962 and 1959.
Challenger Wendy Nadeau, an office manager and event coordinator, said she would prefer the district maintain the buildings it has, but change the grade-level configuration. She would like to see kindergarten, first- and second-grade students together in one building and third- through fifth-graders together in the other. Students now begin kindergarten in Schiesher, then attend Tate Woods for first and second grades, then come back to Schiesher for third through fifth grades before going to Lisle Junior High.
"The elementary school is a goofy setup," Nadeau said. "I'd just like to see K, 1 and 2 together and 3 through 5 together and repair what we have."
Incumbent Darryl Franklin and challenger Joanne Haldeman were reluctant to say whether they prefer repairing Schiesher and Tate Woods or constructing a new school.
Franklin, a portfolio manager and ordained minister, said he would want to research several options for school maintenance or construction, provide the cost of each and then list them on a ballot for voters to decide in a future election.
"I believe the best way to handle this would be to have option A, B, C and the cost associated with each and make it part of a referendum," Franklin said.
Haldeman, a longtime District 202 volunteer with a background in education, said analyzing the cost of potential options will be key, along with listening to what other parents and district residents think. She's glad the listening process is beginning with a session about facilities scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 25, as part of the district's community engagement series, Vision 202.
"It could be that repair is the best fiscal decision right now," Haldeman said. "And I think that's part of the Vision 202 is that were investigating what the community wants and what they want to spend because if we were to try to consolidate and make a single grade school at whatever location it would be expensive."