In support of District 41 bond issue

My wife Erica, who is currently on the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 Board of Education, and I have lived in Wheaton since 1998.

Our two children attended Churchill, Hadley and Glenbard West. In 2015 I volunteered to serve on the District's Community Facilities Task Force, a group of community members who spent eight months studying the facilities of the district. Our purpose was to create a long-term solution that would eliminate the portables at Hadley, provide space for full-day kindergarten and address deficiencies at each of the district schools. This was a valuable experience for me because I learned a great deal about the condition of our schools from district officials, school leaders, architects and construction professionals.

At the end of our deliberations, the task force's recommendations were presented to the board of education in April 2016. Our recommendations were to eliminate the Hadley portable classrooms, create the space necessary in all of our elementary schools to provide all day kindergarten and to address the deficiencies at all of the elementary schools.

Although the board of education's bond measure does not go as far as I would have preferred, I still strongly support the current bond measure because it addresses critical issues that cannot be ignored. I encourage community members to attend one of the upcoming District 41 Information Open Houses to learn about the $24.2 million bond measure that the Board of Education approved to be on the April 4 ballot by a unanimous 6-0 vote. These sessions will all be held at Hadley Junior High School at 7 p.m. Feb. 22, 27 and March 7.

Community members who would like additional information can go to the district's website at www.d41.org/facilityplan or to a community website about the bond measure, www.41forwardforkids.

Barry Nelson

Wheaton