Consolidation of schools worth a look
On Jan. 29 at a joint meeting of local school districts, I asked the members present to consider working together to review the pros and cons of consolidating to form a single unit. I asked that each school board have two of its members participate on a consolidation exploratory committee. I think its worth looking at for the following reasons.
What is the goal of public education if not to provide a consistently high quality experience for all children kindergarten through 12th grade?
Our community is served by three elementary schools -- District 25 (Benjamin), District 33 (West Chicago, Winfield, Carol Stream, Warrenville) and District 34 (Winfield, Wheaton). These elementary schools feed into the Community High School District 94 in West Chicago.
Since 1971 there have been two studies commissioned by the community to consider the pros and cons of consolidating the four public school districts into a single unit. If approved by the community, a unit district would have one board with seven members, one administration, one set of policies, one superintendent, one teachers union, consistent educational curriculum and consistent feeder programs. Operations and programs would be orchestrated as one.
Previous consolidation studies have concluded that there are financial opportunities to be realized as a single unit as well as educational benefits for students. Local experts in education such as the Illinois Board of Education, Illinois Association of School Boards and Northern Illinois University, to mention a few, are in agreement that it would be financially prudent as well as educationally beneficial for school districts feeding into a single high school to form a single unit.
Seems reasonable! Given today's education mandates and economy, consolidation is worth considering.
Tony Reyes
President, School Board Community High School District 94
West Chicago