District 300 lease saves abandoned house

Stop the bulldozers. The Community Unit District 300 school board approved a deal this week that effectively saves an abandoned home in Carpentersville.

The home is near Sleepy Hollow Road between Route 72 and Huntley Road, on the 160-acre Schweitzer property owned by Kane County Forest Preserve.

The forest preserve district didn't have much use for the house and was set to destroy it, according to local officials. But the agreement approved this week allows District 300 and two community groups to lease the building.

District 300 leaders hope to use the house for environmental education, while the Citizen Advocate Team and Friends of the Fox River will have office space on the second floor.

District 300 board members grilled representatives of all three groups - District 300 Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates, Dave Reece of the Citizen Advocate Team and Gary Swick of the Friends of the Fox River - before voting 6-1 to approve the lease.

While saying they supported the stated goals of leasing the building, board members expressed concern over who in the somewhat complex four-party agreement would be liable for any injuries on the property.

"I think it is a great opportunity for kids in the district," board member Monica Clark said. "My concern is having someone monitor the insurance."

Board member Karen Roeckner expressed concern about the ability of the Citizen Advocate Team and the Friends of the Fox River to cover their financial obligations under the agreement. Roeckner was the sole dissenting vote.

District 300 administrators said they would return to the board to address their concerns about liability.

Charter school renewed: Compared to the relatively minor lease of the Schweitzer property house, the Cambridge Lakes charter generated little discussion at this week's meeting.

A three-year extension of the school's charter with District 300 - which gives it the ability to operate more or less independently of the district - passed easily with a few caveats from board President Joe Stevens.

"I'm very much in favor of the charter school, but I was not impressed by the audit or the answers we got," Stevens said. He then warned his colleagues, "This is your only shot. I don't think any of us want to see this fail."

Finally, before voting, Stevens pointed out the fact that Larry Fuhrer serves both as chairman of the board for the Northern Kane Educational Corp., which runs the charter school, as well as the organization's chief executive officer.

"I think the chairman of the board also being the CEO is a major conflict of interest," Stevens said.

Fuhrer, who is also executive director of Northern Kane, became chairman when Cambridge Homes Senior Vice President Jerry Conrad resigned his chairmanship last year.