District 158 weighs options for high school

The housing downturn has put the brakes on the once-blistering pace of growth in Huntley Unit District 158 - but that doesn't mean school officials don't have to worry about construction anymore.

In fact, even without new homes funneling more students into the district, Huntley High School could be over capacity as soon as 2011.

That's because the school's freshman classes over the next three years will be much larger than the senior classes they replace.

With a looming enrollment crunch at the district's only high school, District 158 officials have started weighing three options: a new high school, an addition to Huntley High School or a new building that would house only freshmen.

The last option, a new freshman-only building, appears to have emerged as the front-runner.

"A freshman academy building probably makes the most sense and is probably the least financially risky," board member Kevin Gentry said Monday.

The facility, which would be built on the same campus as Huntley High School, would house freshmen until the district has enough students to support a new high school.

When the freshmen move to Huntley High School or a new high school, the freshman academy would serve as the district's third middle school.

It could take the district 32 months and more than $31 million to build a 133,000-square-foot freshman academy, according to the district's 2007 building plan.

The freshman academy, which would be built essentially as a middle school, would cost less than half as much as a full-size high school - but five times as much as 25,500-square-foot addition to the high school, according to the building plan.

That's why board member Larry Snow supports expansion.

"Expanding the current one would be far more cost-effective for taxpayers," Snow said. "New schools require a lot more additional operating cost than expanding schools."

The debate is far from over. Officials hope to survey the district's residents in coming months and to use the input to help make a decision.

All three options could lead the district to ask for a tax increase, although building a new high school or freshman academy are the only options that would require a referendum, district officials say.

High school Principal Dave Johnson said the district will be able to provide a quality education for its high-schoolers no matter what the district decides.

"All those options are plausible," Johnson said.