Best place to build new middle school

This is in response to "Herrick Road site wrong for school", contributed by George Kocan from Warrenville. While Kocan's concerns may be shared by some or all of his neighbors, his viewpoint centers around "wrong for us", not the school. Let me explain why:

First of all, Kocan begins his argument with the NIMBY principle. Plain and simply put, you do not want a school in your back yard. All the county and school district can say is: "Sorry, George, we've exhausted all other possibilities and have found a suitable site." I agree with this and feel that they have gone above and beyond with their planning, testing, re-testing and endless appeasement of groups opposing the site.

As far as expecting District 200 to open its wallet to families who want the school of their choice, sorry, George, this will not happen either. Wise use of resources, in this case tax dollars, must be the main objective. Constructing a fine new school meets the objective. Children get their choice on where to go to school after they graduate. I don't know about you, but I am grateful to have the excellent schools we have. They are provided in part by tax revenue we contribute to, and, yes, they are not always perfect. However, if you know where "perfect land" is, start selling tickets to get there. You'll make a lot of money.

Kocan refers to ecological destruction. While I do not doubt his credentials or interest at least in the local wildlife ecology, I must take exception to his claims. I hold degrees in both natural resource biology and environmental science and can empathize with your chagrin at the potential change in land use. However, if you'll look around you, old field succession takes place in a host of communities, not just in your neighborhood. Generations ago, farms existed as far as the eye can see and gradually gave way to the development that is Warrenville, Wheaton, West Chicago, Winfield, etc. While I appreciate natural ecological succession and plenty of undeveloped land, the greater good of the community takes precedence here. Many will not agree, but we can't have it both ways. This tract of land simply is the opportunity cost of a much needed new school.

Dan Milinko

West Chicago