Grayslake charter school looks at larger classes
Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake has a stated mission to maintain small class sizes, but board members are considering a proposal to expand student limits to boost revenue.
Charter school Director Myron Dagley has recommended the maximum class size for kindergarten through eighth grade increase from 20 to 22 students. Board members discussed the proposal briefly Tuesday night, but no action was taken.
"This is being brought forward primarily because current policy restricts the ceiling on the classes," Dagley told the school board.
Prairie Crossing, which has about 360 students, is a public choice school within the boundaries of Woodland Elementary District 50 and Fremont Elementary District 79. Tuition is charged only to parents of children outside of those districts, with enrollment decided by lottery. Last year's Illinois per-pupil aid for Prairie Crossing was $8,653 for Woodland students and $7,978 for the Fremont children. Dagley said "it is essential" to have the larger class sizes and a cap of 370 in-district students to capture the maximum amount of state money.
Open since 1999, environmentally focused Prairie Crossing's original chartering document states it was designed to expand the education choices for families living within the boundaries of districts 50 and 79.
"An additional distinguishing feature of the school will be its small size," the document states. "The school will serve a target population of up to 330 children in kindergarten through eighth grade when it reaches capacity."
Prairie Crossing is one of 35 small public choice schools in Illinois. It is Lake County's only charter school.
More than half of its 27 certified teachers recently signed cards to become a unit of the Lake County Federation of Teachers union. Officials expect a state agency to grant the request to the employees, possibly in two months or so.
Lack of pay is cited as the top reason the employees want union representation. Prairie Crossing teachers are paid an average of $38,040, compared to $54,797 in District 50 and $59,727 in District 79, according to the 2009 state report card.