Warren school board considers off-campus option

Warren Township High School may have found a way to alleviate cafeteria crowding at its Almond Road upperclassmen campus without spending millions of dollars.

Board members at Gurnee-based Warren District 121 expect to approve a test program allowing seniors -- if they meet certain criteria and have parental permission -- to leave campus for lunch starting in the 2008-09 academic year.

It might mean 450 fewer pupils would use the Almond Road cafeteria for lunch each day. Administrators have voiced concerns about the jammed serving area.

Warren officials said the district pursued the idea after studying off-campus privileges extended to some upperclassmen at Stevenson and Libertyville high schools.

Last year, Warren residents rejected a tax-hike request that would have funded a new cafeteria, extra office space and 25 new classrooms at the Almond Road campus, which opened in 1997. The result prompted officials to look for another way to relieve cafeteria crowding, which led to the off-campus plan.

"The community said, 'Live within your means,' " District 121 Superintendent Phil Sobocinski said.

The change might be tied to a requirement that juniors pass the Prairie State Achievement Exam in April if they want off-campus privileges in their final year, Sobocinski said. Other criteria likely would be established, such as avoiding disciplinary problems, he said.

It's hoped 400 to 450 Warren seniors would qualify for going off campus for nearly an hour, officials said. Sobocinski said good behavior by pupils would be a must after the benefit is earned.

"If they go out for lunch and shoplift from a store, they'll lose their privilege," he told board members Tuesday night.

Warren senior Jeremy Horwitz of Gurnee said he would have liked an opportunity to leave school for lunch. He said some juniors he talked to Wednesday supported the idea.

"It's just another step toward being shown we have more responsibility and adults can trust us," Horwitz said.

At Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, the off-campus option for juniors and seniors has existed for more than 15 years, spokesman Jim Conrey said. Students can leave for 50 minutes at lunch or another time when class or study hall isn't scheduled.

Stevenson offers the off-campus choice to juniors and seniors who haven't received any punishments restricting their movements. All students get a handbook each year detailing infractions that would negate their ability to depart school.

"By the way, students assume responsibility for getting back to school on time if they leave campus," Conrey said. "If someone has car problems, too bad. Also, upperclassmen cannot take underclassmen off campus."

Warren board members are scheduled to vote on the open-campus test program in two weeks.

John Anderson, the District 121 board president, said he's confident the newfound freedom would be enough to ensure good behavior by the participating seniors.

Anderson offered some words seniors would not want to hear if their off-campus privilege is revoked: "You've got to go back and eat (cafeteria) food instead of Wendy's."