Dist. 25 not planning on merging with nearby school districts

Benjamin Elementary District 25 won't be participating in any talks of merging with three nearby school districts.

Officials with the two-school district made the announcement Wednesday -- two days after nearby Winfield Elementary District 34 appointed representatives to a joint committee to explore consolidation.

The consolidation proposal calls for District 34 and District 25 to merge with West Chicago Elementary District 33 and West Chicago High School District 94.

District 33 officials have appointed representatives to the joint committee, stressing they're only interested in exploring the idea of consolidation informally.

But Phil Ehrhardt, superintendent of District 25, said school officials fielded several calls from parents who said they didn't want to merge, fearing the district would compromise its local control and high test scores.

The parents "really like the size of the district and the services can be personalized to their tastes," Ehrhardt said.

The idea of consolidating the four districts was proposed last month by District 94 school board President Tony Reyes.

Reyes has argued that the four districts need to consider the idea as a way to create a more efficient and cost-effective learning environment for the roughly 7,200 students in the districts.

School officials last conducted a formal study on consolidating the four districts in 1996.

Despite the decision by the District 25 school board, parents interested in seeing consolidation could override any board decisions on the matter.

Voters could be asked to weigh on the issue if residents launch a petition drive to put the question on an election ballot.