St. Charles school board candidates disagree on fate of Haines campus

The decision to close Haines Middle School wasn't popular with all St. Charles school district residents. Opponents of the plan won't find a candidate on the April ballot who wants to keep the Haines' Hurricanes blowing. The candidates, however, disagree on any future use or sale.

Seven candidates seek four seats on the board. Two incumbents decided not to seek re-election, guaranteeing at least two new faces on the seven-member board.

Jim Gaffney and Ed McNally are the two incumbents seeking another 4-year term. McNally was unable to join a recent Daily Herald editorial board meeting with the candidates. He voted to close Haines and sell bonds to help finance upgrades at the two other middle schools.

Gaffney said he doesn't expect the Haines closure, which will take two years, to have as much of an impact on students as some people think. No teachers nor staff members will lose their jobs, so students will have the benefit of continuity with the same faces sticking around.

“The board and the district and staff and teachers are going to make sure, no matter where a student parks his little rear end for the day, that he's going to get the best education possible,” Gaffney said.

Gaffney will not support any effort to sell the Haines property. The land is rare and valuable, Gaffney said. But the building itself is “ready to be mowed down.”

“If a tornado came by at 2 in the morning and dumped that building in the middle of the Fox River, and nobody got hurt, I'd be the happiest guy in St. Charles,” Gaffney said.

He supports possibly using Haines for special education students.

Carolyn Waibel is also a fan of keeping the school. She believes the school board made the right decision to close Haines based on the available projections showing declining student enrollment. However, she believes those projections will require updates as housing developments open within the district.

“The numbers are always changing,” Waibel said. “Every two years, it should be something we review. But because of the intangible of the population numbers, (Haines) should be something to hold onto.”

In contrast, Lara Kristofer said selling the property is the best move.

“That's what I understood the plan to be,” Kristofer said. “Sold, occupied and maintained. I don't think it's financially sound to maintain a vacant building. Hopefully, we get a buyer for it. If not, we would definitely want to make sure we're monitoring it so nothing is going on. There are families living around there.”

Heidi Fairgrieve would also consider selling Haines. She said the information the district has indicates there is no need for the building, but that could change even by the time the two-year transition to two middle schools is complete.

“We should do an assessment of what are facility needs are at that time and really be assured that we don't anticipate that there's going to be an additional need,” Fairgrieve said. “If we're confident there isn't a need, then I think we should put it on the market and sell it.”

One of Eric Missil's goals, if elected, is to create a long-term master plan for the district. He sees the Haines closure as the cost savings that allow for long-overdue school improvements.

“We don't have a master plan that is communicated out of where we see it going to over a five- to 10-year history,” Missil said. “Once we get that master plan, that will help identify what we should be doing with Haines. You have to look long term and see how all the pieces fit together before you can look at one, isolated piece.”

Denton Morris said the Haines closure would address problems with cafeteria space, inadequate science labs and accessibility for people with disabilities. A perfect solution would have involved building a new middle school on the property the district owns on Silver Glen Road, but upgrades to Wredling and Thompson middle schools is “a good compromise,” he said. The age and deterioration of Haines will be a major obstacle to either selling or reuse of the building, he said.

“If there are usable parts to it, that's wonderful,” Morris said. “The majority of the building is outdated. It has no technology infrastructure and still has asbestos-bound pipes. A beautiful vision would be to get rid of the parts that don't belong there. If the gym and offices are usable, good. The building itself is way past due to be gone.”