Elmhurst 205 building plan may include boundary changes

Elmhurst Unit District 205 officials say they must decide if and how school boundaries would be adjusted before dealing with other aspects of a plan to repair, upgrade or, in the case of Lincoln and Field elementary schools, replace buildings.

The acknowledgment comes after possible boundary changes were among the biggest issues raised by residents who attended a series of public meetings about the district's draft master facility plan.

More than 380 people, mostly parents, learned about proposed construction scenarios during the sessions. They also provided feedback that ultimately will help school board members determine whether to pursue a referendum question for additional funding.

Consultants working on the community outreach effort this week told board members that, in general, the residents who attended the sessions prefer "moving forward" scenarios that would allow the district to make long-term improvements to buildings with a future-ready focus.

"What we learned was that moving forward is preferred to maintaining the status quo," said Marcia Sutter, a consultant with Minding Your Business.

Those scenarios would need voter approval to borrow tens of millions of dollars. Depending on what work is done, it would cost of the owner of a $500,000 home an additional $51 to $149 a year in property taxes.

But before the district can consider a referendum, residents say they want more information about timelines, site-specific details and boundaries.

"A number of people commented that combining this boundary adjustment with a referendum could be problematic for some people," Sutter said.

In discussing boundaries, residents said they want students who walk to school to be able to continue to do so. In addition, they want students to attend the school closet to their home. They also want clarity on how boundary changes will lower class sizes.

Board member Shannon Ebner acknowledged there needs to be "some closure" on the boundary issue before the district can move forward with the master facility plan.

"I think people are waiting to hear about boundaries before deciding whether to support the plan," she said.

The district is outlining three possible boundary plans on its website:

• "Option A" would move 62 students from Hawthorne Elementary School to Edison Elementary School, 47 students from Jackson Elementary School to Lincoln, and 88 students from Lincoln to Hawthorne.

• "Option C" would move 62 students from Hawthorne to Edison, 64 students from Jackson to Jefferson Elementary School, and 65 students from Jefferson to Edison.

• "Option D" would move 62 students from Hawthorne to Edison and 64 students from Jackson to Edison.

Ebner said she doesn't believe there's community support for options A and C. She said the board should have a discussion about Option D.

That conversation is expected to happen next week during a board workshop.

Among other things, board members could revise the existing draft of the boundary plan; they could grandfather in families who wish to remain at their current school; or they could decide to make no boundary adjustments at all.

"What are the consequences of not changing any boundaries?" board member Kara Caforio asked. "That needs to be part of the boundary discussion as well."