Metea step closer to reality

With the land selected and boundary agreements being drafted, the fate of Indian Prairie School District 204's proposed Metea Valley High School now rests with the city of Aurora.

The city council Tuesday received and accepted the district's submitted annexation agreement for 121.57 acres, as well as an annexation petition from the landowner Midwest Generation EME, LLC for the same land on Eola Road south of Diehl Road, where the new high school is planned to be built.

City attorney Alayne Weingartz said the submissions start the ball rolling on the city's end.

From here, she said plans for the school will go before the city's planning and zoning commissions and other committees before gaining approval from the city council.

"While the land purchase and location process may have ended for the district, we're just starting our processes with this land," Weingartz said, adding she doesn't believe reaching the district's targeted August 2009 opening will be a problem.

"I'm not yet overly familiar with what they're proposing, but I can't see it being an issue."

There were no school district officials at Tuesday's city council meeting, but in recent weeks several officials have praised the city staff and officials for their dedication and hard work.

Mayor Tom Weisner re-iterated the city's willingness to work with the district to make the school something both the city and district can be proud of.

"We couldn't be more happy to have the new District 204 high school in Aurora," he said. "It's a great thing, and we're all anxious to work together to make it a success."

On Jan. 22, the school board members agreed unanimously to purchase approximately 87 acres of the Eola Road site for about $16.5 million from St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation, an independent power producer.

As they begin discussing the boundary lines to determine which children would attend the new high school, board members intend for the new school to ease the overcrowding burden on both Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools, which would likely then serve the central and southern portions of the 46-square-mile district.