District 158 school board approves boundary changes

Roughly 600 students will be moved out of Leggee Elementary School in Huntley over the next three years to alleviate overcrowding, officials said.

The Huntley School District 158 school board recently approved boundary changes to address increasing student enrollment at Leggee, the district's only kindergarten through fifth grade building at 13723 Harmony Road.

It is the only District 158 school facing overcrowding because of two major housing developments within its boundaries. The school ideally has capacity for about 850 students.

Enrollment at Leggee this year is 1,166 students. By the 2017-2018 school year, the enrollment should drop to 660 students.

Those roughly 600 Leggee students being redistricted will be placed in other elementary schools where there is room - Chesak and Mackeben (currently kindergarten through second grade) and Conley and Martin (currently grades three through five).

Starting this fall, and each of the following two years, Leggee students living in the affected areas entering kindergarten or third grade will go to a new school instead. Students entering other grades will continue at Leggee. Families can choose to allow siblings of Leggee students being relocated to also go to the new school.

District administrators used an outside demographer, DecisionInsite, to gather data and help draw up three scenarios for changes to elementary and middle school boundaries. The district conducted two open houses earlier this month during which parents were able to learn more about the three options.

The school board approved the scenario recommended by the administration because it allows changes to be phased in over three years, officials said.

The affected neighborhoods are:

• Georgian Place (old part of Huntley), east of Route 47/north of Main Street will move to the Reed Road campus.

• Wing Pointe (old part of Huntley), east of Route 47/south of Main Street will move to the Square Barn Road campus.

• Middle school boundaries are being realigned to allow elementary students in the kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth grade buildings on the Reed Road and Square Barn campuses to attend middle school on the same campus.

• Leggee students will remain split between the two district middle schools. The boundary line would run along Main Street west to Harmony Road.

To view maps of affected neighborhoods, visit district158.org.

Officials have said the boundary changes will make transportation more efficient with everyone west of Route 47 going to Leggee and everyone east of Route 47 going to Reed Road or Square Barn campuses.

In early April, Leggee families living in the affected neighborhoods will receive a letter outlining the schools their children will attend next year and options for siblings. The district also will conduct open houses for those families who will be able to tour their new schools and meet with administrators.

Middle school boundary changes go into effect starting in fall of 2018, and will continue each of the following two years with incoming sixth-graders attending schools under new boundaries. Students attending or scheduled to begin middle school in the next three years will continue to attend middle school under current boundaries.

For more information about the changes, email questions to boundaryfeedback@district158.org.