Expansion means more cash for Grayslake charter school

Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake expects to receive about $300,000 in additional state money for the next academic year through increased student enrollment.

But a top administrator at Woodland Elementary District 50 in Gurnee is concerned Prairie Crossing's gain in state cash will be at the expense of his school system. Children from Woodland's borders account for 80 percent of Prairie Crossing's enrollment.

Illinois State Board of Education officials this month approved the charter school's request to boost maximum enrollment from 360 to 392, spokesman Matt Vanover said Tuesday. Unlike other charter schools, Prairie Crossing receives state per-pupil aid.

Prairie Crossing is a public choice school within the boundaries of Woodland and Fremont Elementary District 79. Prairie Crossing touts an environmentally focused curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade.

District 50 Associate Superintendent Robert Leonard said 291 district students this year were enrolled at Prairie Crossing. He said $2.7 million in state aid for those children that would have gone to Woodland instead was sent to Prairie Crossing.

Leonard said 25 of the extra 32 students who could attend Prairie Crossing in the next academic year likely would be from Woodland, costing District 50 $230,000 in state aid at minimum. Prairie Crossing gets about $9,200 per Woodland student, he said.

Amid budget woes that recently included elimination of some positions, Leonard said, District 50 could use as much state aid as it can get.

"There would be little to any cost to Woodland if we brought those (Prairie Crossing) kids back here," he said.

However, Prairie Crossing board President Geoff Deigan said leaders there are obligated to maximize financial resources by increasing student enrollment. He said school buildings already can accommodate growth to 392 students and an average class of 22.

"The only way we can get money from the state is putting people in the seats," Deigan said.

Seven additional District 79 students attending Prairie Crossing would cost the district $67,200, based on this year's per-pupil state aid of $9,600.

Open since 1999, Prairie Crossing's original charter document states the school's distinguishing feature would be its small size with a capacity of 330 children. Vanover said Prairie Crossing can seek state permission for a maximum of 432 students.

Although it doesn't cost extra for Fremont and Woodland children to attend Prairie Crossing, enrollment is determined by lottery.

"Our school is a school of choice," Deigan said, "and our waiting list shows people want to come here."