District 23 board approves grade level centers, puts tax increase on ballot

Prospect Heights Elementary District 23 will adopt grade level centers and seek a property tax increase on the April 5 ballot, the board decided Wednesday night.

Only a few of the approximately 70 people who attended the meeting spoke for or against the grade level centers, but most who did were emotional.

Amy Stockbridge, a leader of the fight against the centers, told the board it had lost a constituency in its bid to pass the tax increase.

She said Martha Olsen, president of the board, had told her if the referendum passed the grade level centers would not have to be instituted. Olsen said she had changed her mind after receiving more information, and board members agreed the centers would stand regardless of the fate of the tax increase.

On the other hand, Darla Stavros expressed frustration at the “screaming and accusations” during a December meeting and said parents “should be concerned with all the issues and not just one.” She supported grade level centers by saying she has daughters in three different schools and has never had school event conflicts.

Pam Kaiser opposed the grade level centers on grounds the education would not be as good. She said classes would be bigger, and the kindergarten and first graders would be isolated without older children to look up to.

Board members supported the centers unanimously, citing a $300,000 expected annual savings and saying they were sure the staff could assure a continuation of excellent education.

They then adopted the so-called Option 7 for reconfiguring schools next year. Randy DeCoursey, a board member, called this a compromise because parents had asked for this arrangement, even though he said it is not the most efficient use of the district's facilities.

This will put kindergarten and first grade at Eisenhower, Schoenbeck and Camp McDonald roads. Much of the opposition to the grade level centers came from parents of students at Eisenhower, the only school not on the district's main campus at Palatine and Schoenbeck roads.

Second and third grades and prekindergarten will be at Ross and fourth and fifth grades at Sullivan. MacArthur Middle School is also on the main campus.

The district will seek a .35 percent increase in the tax rate allowed by law for 2009. This is designed to bring about $2 million, said Luann Mathis, business manager. This will increase taxes by an estimated $35 for each $100,000 of a home's fair market value or about $105 for a $300,000 home, she said, This increase would be for one year only.