Boundary OK only first step for new Dist. 204 chool

Indian Prairie officials cleared the first of three major hurdles this week by approving new high school attendance boundaries.

Now that most Unit District 204 families know where their children will be attending classes in coming years, school board President Mark Metzger said leaders will turn their attention to the site along Eola Road south of Diehl Road that eventually will be home to Metea Valley High School.

"Our next step is to finalize all of the environmental impact studies, which are under way now," Metzger said Wednesday.

The 87-acre parcel is owned by St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation, an independent power producer.

"If any remediation is necessary, we'll wait for the (Illinois Environmental Protection Agency) to approve any course of action before we close the sale and commence construction of Metea Valley," Metzger said.

The second phase of the environmental impact study is not complete but already has found five of 66 collected soil boring samples are contaminated with "very limited" amounts of diesel fuel, officials said.

Despite the findings, Metzger said he believes the contaminated borings are limited to a small area and he remains positive about the overall site.

After the studies are complete in March or April, Metzger said he expects the district will be ready to hire a principal for Metea.

Officials also will have to name a new principal for Neuqua Valley in the wake of Michael Popp's promotion from that post to a position in the central administration.

"We hope to have whoever those people are hired in the early spring so they can begin meeting with the first wave of students and go about setting the tone," Metzger said. "We plan to have that done early because it's anticipated that slightly more than a year's worth of work is necessary to begin allocating staff and putting together the operational plan."

With the new boundaries approved Tuesday, district officials aim to open Metea in August 2009 to freshmen and sophomores and then add a new class in each of the next two years. Some amenities may not be in place when the school first opens its doors.

Metea eventually will hold about 3,000 students.

Officials said the school is needed to ease overcrowding at Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools in the district that serves portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook.