Parent group won't appeal Metea decision
A parents group in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 said Friday it's walking away from a lawsuit it brought against the school district earlier this year.
Members of Neighborhood Schools For Our Children said they've always wanted the district to have a third high school -- just not in the location where it's being built along Eola Road in Aurora.
A DuPage County Circuit Court judge last week rejected the residents' efforts to force the district to build Metea Valley on the originally proposed Brach-Brodie site near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.
Ruling that the group did not have legal standing to bring the lawsuit in the first place, Judge Kenneth Popejoy stated in his written decision that the court "cannot order the district to act a certain way on an issue that is within the district's discretion."
Fearing that an appeal of that ruling would delay construction of the school, the group says it's ending its legal action.
Members wanted the district to use the $127.4 million voters approved in 2006 to purchase the Brach-Brodie property and build the school there.
"We're all dedicated and proud parents who want a third high school located at the (Brach-Brodie) site approved by the vote in 2006," member Jim Walker said. "Construction has begun and the results of an appeal would take months -- so even if we were to win, the whole district loses and we don't want that."
Walker said the group "only wanted the district to act responsibly, keep their promises to the voters and children, and ensure the safety of the site."
The group's attorney, Shawn Collins, said he recommended members not appeal, saying any decision would be "hollow" and "only freeze construction of a school that would be 80 percent built" by the time the case would be heard.
Ultimately the group said it opposed the Eola Road site, claiming high-pressure gas lines near the site and nearby overhead power lines made it unsafe for students and teachers.
"Unfortunately those environmental issues would not be enough to stop construction, but we hoped the district would have gotten wise and paid attention to those issues," Collins said Friday. "Currently there are no environmental laws concerning where you can build a school, so we had to win the case on other grounds and we couldn't do it."
Collins said he has had "serious discussions" with group members about working to pass legislation that would set tough environmental standards about where you can and can't build a school.
As for the future of Neighborhood Schools For Our Children, Walker said it's too early to know if the group will stay together to fight for other perceived injustices in the district.
"We didn't talk about those kinds of plans because we've been so focused on this immediate item," Walker said. "Right now, I think everyone just wants to watch some TV and get some sleep."
District 204 President Mark Metzger deferred calls to district attorneys who did not return telephone calls Friday.
The district covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook. Officials, who already have broken ground for the new school, say it's needed to ease crowding at Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools.