Dist. 56 weighing whether to abandon flood-prone Gurnee school

Every spring, District 56 Superintendent John Hutton walks out onto the playground at Gurnee Grade School and determines whether to give the go ahead to start sandbagging.

His decision affects the school's students, who in the worst-case scenario have to be moved, and in the best case are distracted from their lessons.

For years, the school has been at the mercy of the Des Plaines River, which floods at least once - and often several times - each spring. The site at 940 Kilbourne Road in Gurnee is one of the first along the Des Plaines to flood.

"We think our building is such that we have an urgent situation," he said. "During my three-year tenure in Gurnee, we have had to move students numerous times because of flooding. It's time we started looking for alternatives."

The first step will take place Nov. 12, when officials host a community meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to go over alternatives and assess the district's strategic goals.

That meeting will take place in the elementary school's gymnasium - ironically one of the areas most affected when the Des Plaines River floods.

"We want to meet with parents and let them look at the facility, the goals of the district, and get public input and ideas on how we might move ahead," Hutton said. "We are also trying to determine if it's economically feasible to shut this school and open a new one out of the flood area."

The grade school is always the barometer used by county and village officials to determine how bad the flooding will be in Gurnee and the surrounding area.

Simply stated, water on the playground means dry streets, water at the school's front doors means some roads will be affected, and water inside the school means homeowners should sandbag.

Hutton said officials from Lake County, Gurnee and from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have all agreed the best solution is to shut down the building and move to another facility out of the flood area.

"We have applied for a capital improvement grant to help us accomplish that, and we feel we have a real good shot at getting some of that money," Hutton said. "But it is unclear at this point if we will get the grant."

Moving would ultimately save money, and coincide with the village's flood mitigation plan, he added.

"Every time we sandbag, it costs the village of Gurnee $300,000," he said. "By leaving this site, it would coincide with the village's flood mitigation plan and help the citizens here deal with flooding. It would also benefit the students to not have to move whenever the water gets high."