District 56 taking a close look at closing Gurnee Grade School
Gurnee Elementary District 56 is exploring whether to abandon a flood-prone school near the Des Plaines River in the village and construct a new building in Wadsworth.
Front-end loaders, sandbags and community volunteers appear periodically at Gurnee Grade School on Kilbourne Road. Major flood-protection efforts most recently occurred in 2004 and 2007, although there have been some nervous moments since then, including this weekend, when the area was part of a flood advisory.
Gurnee Grade School has 435 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, along with District 56's administration offices. Superintendent John Hutton said it's disruptive to students and employees when heavy rain hits and the river swells about 100 yards away.
"I can guarantee you, the teachers are thinking, 'We might be out of this building,'" Hutton said.
In 2007, about 150 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade pupils who typically use Gurnee Grade's lower level were forced out because of flooding, and spent two days at Viking School on Old Grand Avenue. Hutton said space these days is too tight to send Gurnee Grade's children to the district's three other buildings.
District 56 owns 75 acres north of Wadsworth and Delany roads, where a new school could be built, Hutton said. The district purchased the Wadsworth property for $1.6 million from Cambridge Homes Inc. in 2005.
As the first step toward a possible exit from Gurnee Grade, the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission has applied for a federal grant that would cover 75 percent of demolition costs.
If approved, the Federal Emergency Management Agency would cover $2.4 million of a projected $3.2 million cost to demolish Gurnee Grade and other buildings on Kilbourne Road, then restore the property to wetlands.
District 56 would contribute $665,970 toward the demolition, with donated services projected at $143,522 from the county stormwater commission, according to the federal grant documents.
Michael Warner, the stormwater commission's executive director, said the cost-benefit ratio weighs heavily on the side of getting rid of the school. Local governments incur expenses each time help is provided to District 56 for fighting flood water.
Hutton said the district's strong financial position would allow it to pursue construction of a new school. He said the district has only $13 million to $15 million in debt, and it is scheduled to be retired by 2014.
Officials would first go after state and federal money to pay for a new building, Hutton said. If more cash is required, he said, permission to borrow would be solicited in a referendum.
"We absolutely will not bring a proposal to the community that in any way would raise taxes," he said, adding there is no specific time frame to reach a decision on building a new school.
District 56 has 2,234 students for the current academic year. If the new building is constructed, Hutton said, officials likely would want to reshuffle the students so enrollment is about 550 at each of four schools.
"We want to make sure our diversity is equal across the whole district," Hutton said. "Right now, it's not."
Ceilings and tiles were replaced on Gurnee Grade's lower level because of mold created when water flowed inside in 2004. Hutton said hydrostatic pressure sometimes forces water from under the building inside.
District 56 includes Gurnee, Wadsworth, Beach Park and Waukegan.