District 214 may get federal funding to soundproof Elk Grove High School

The Federal Aviation Administration is reassessing its decision to deny three suburban schools, including Elk Grove High School, funding for soundproofing to buffer against aircraft noise resulting from O'Hare International Airport's runway expansion.

Area legislators, representatives of the O'Hare Noise Compatability Commission and school district officials pleaded before top FAA officials in Washington, D.C., this week on behalf of the three schools seeking funding - Elk Grove High School, Carpenter School in Park Ridge and Ridgewood High School in Norridge.

Township High School District 214 was expecting more than $10 million in federal grants to soundproof Elk Grove High School. The district found out in June it was no longer eligible for funding because the FAA expects the airport to produce less noise in the future.

The FAA has funded 117 schools through the commission's school sound insulation program.

While no decision was made this week, a top FAA official agreed to visit the three remaining schools sometime in the first quarter of 2010, said Deb Parenti, District 214's associate superintendent of finance and commission liaison.

"The goal was to be able to share our concerns and issues and actually try to personalize a little bit of that," Parenti said. "I think it was enlightening and absolutely worthwhile for us to go there and for the schools to be represented."

Parenti said having U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and a representative from U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam's office as part of the delegation made a big difference.

District 214 officials already had begun planning the construction.

Elk Grove High School was initially deemed eligible to compete for federal funding based on a 2000 study of noise levels. But in a June 11 letter, the FAA cited a Chicago forecast that noise levels at all three schools would be considerably lower when the O'Hare expansion is completed by 2014.

Parenti said she is hopeful communication between the FAA and the commission will improve as a result of this week's meeting.

"One of the things we hope is that we can come up with some win-win solution and help each other cross over this hurdle," she said. "There was at least a commitment that this was not the end of the road."