Two Lake Co. school districts to explore merger

The Antioch and Lake Villa elementary school districts plan to explore consolidation as a cost-cutting measure, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Lake Villa Elementary District 41 and Antioch Elementary District 34 were scheduled to meet June 12 to discuss merging, but the meeting has been postponed until the fall because of conflicting schedules.

"The state has really pushed for consolidation because they feel, and I agree, that there are some benefits to larger school districts," said District 34 Superintendent Scott Thompson said. "There is probably some duplications of services and both of our boards are interested in seeing if there is a more fiscally responsible way to run the districts."

However, officials from both districts were quick to point out it is too early to speculate on when, or even if, the districts will move forward with a merger.

"The agenda has not even been set or planned," District 41 Superintendent John Van Pelt said. "When we do meet, it will be purely exploratory. Just some basic information sharing."

District 34 board President Brent Bluthardt agreed, saying while a school district needs to consider all cost-saving options, it is too soon to know if consolidation is possible.

District 41, which serves Lake Villa and Lindenhurst, and District 34, which serves Antioch, each have four elementary schools and one middle school.

Both districts feed into Antioch-Lake Villa Area High School District 117.

In 2006, the Illinois School Board of Education published an analysis pointing out the benefits of fewer and larger school districts. They included lower administrative costs, improved administrative leadership, curriculum alignment and course offerings.

Illinois currently has 870 public school districts, the second highest number in the country. Of those districts, 200 are made up of a single school.

Michelle Heninger, an operations consultant for the Illinois State Board of Education, said the state provides four incentive grants for districts that choose to consolidate.

"All of this is initiated at a local level and is a local choice," Heninger said. "We just assist in the reorganization process."

Thompson said in order for school districts to merge, 66 percent of both communities have to support the merger with a referendum.

So far, Thompson said, he is open to the idea.

"I do think there is probably no reason for two superintendents," Thompson said. "One person could handle the job. And communication would flow more easily and freely if we were one unit district."

Antioch and Lake Villa school districts at a glance

Lake Villa Elementary District 41:

Teachers: 337

Students: About 3,000

Schools: Four elementary and one middle school

Serves: Kindergarten through eighth grade in Lindenhurst and Lake Villa

Antioch Elementary District 34:

Teachers: 204

Students: 3,200

Schools: Four elementary and one middle school

Serves: Kindergarten through eighth grade in Antioch.

Source: Daily Herald interviews