Dist. 204 should value public input

The enrollment in the Indian Prairie Unit School District 204 is already 1,137 students below the district's projection used to promote the 2006 referendum to build a third high school. High school enrollment alone is 476 students below what they projected for this year. Considering that elementary school enrollment has declined for two years, our total enrollment will peak thousands less than the school district told us.

A jury set the price for the Brach-Brodie land at more than double what the school district budgeted and assured us it would cost. Thankfully, that quick-take never passed.

Then the unsuitable parcels became possibilities, as did some new options. Now the school district wants a new trial for the Brach-Brodie land because it says the first one wasn't fair.

Who knows where a third high school might be built? If we don't get the Brach-Brodie land, it's possible, maybe even likely, that the high school boundaries will change. I can't imagine our community going through that nightmare again, especially when it was the lowest of seven choices on the community survey regarding why the 2005 referendum failed. Ironically, providing more information, the result of better planning, was the highest.

So where does that leave us? Well, the enrollment is not what was projected, the proposed land is twice the price so the location might be different, and then the boundaries may change. It's also probable that the school won't be completed by the date it was promised, it might not be built to meet our expectations, and who knows for sure about the cost. Not exactly a well-planned project.

Maybe after this experience our school district will be more open to input from all of our community, even when - especially when - it is contrary to what they are thinking.

George Vickers

Aurora