Few speak up over Dist. 203 boundary

Dozens of parents showed up at a Naperville Unit District 203 meeting Monday to hear about proposed boundary changes near Mill Street Elementary School, but only a few expressed concerns.

District 203 is looking at moving students from Mill Street to Elmwood Elementary to ease crowding at the north-side school. Some Elmwood students would also move to nearby Kingsley and Maplebrook elementary schools. In some cases, the moves would also affect what junior high and high school students attend.

Mill Street is the largest of the district's elementary schools with 821 students and is projected to grow to 836 next year. The school recently underwent a $7 million renovation, but while that included new learning spaces for small groups, it did not include classrooms to handle the increasing number of students.

Under the proposal, 42 to 83 students from portions of the Wil-O-Way neighborhood, as well as Jefferson Estates, would move to Elmwood, which is 119 students below capacity. These new Elmwood students would then go to Lincoln Junior High and Naperville Central High School.

The move applies to kindergarten though third-grade students and all newly enrolled students. Students in fourth and fifth grades and their siblings will be allowed to finish at Mill if they choose to.

In addition, roughly 14 to 22 Elmwood students will move to Maplebrook Elementary, and two to five Elmwood students will move to Kingsley. These students will then go to Lincoln and Central as well.

The district held meetings last week with Mill and Elmwood families to discuss the moves. Kitty Ryan, assistant superintendent for school services and programs, said the neighborhoods being moved were chosen because they are contiguous to their new schools and, in some cases, will be even closer. The district also is trying to keep a balance between the number of student at Naperville North and Central high schools.

"We know children are resilient," Ryan said. "We know if this is in fact approved these children will eventually learn about their new schools and be fine, but we know also that this is painful. We want to do this in a way that eases as much of that pain."

Parent Mike Crossett said he supports the moves.

"This is fundamentally about setting an appropriate and manageable environment for students to learn and teachers to teach," he said.

Gabrielle Gallerano said while her own daughter won't be moved, it will affect her friendships with children in the neighborhood who will be making a switch.

"If we continue to section our students off within Wil-O-Way they are going to lose a sense of community," she said.

School board members had little to say about the proposal. Dave Weeks said he agrees with it and Susan Crotty said she was glad to see some students will be closer to their school, but has some concern about splitting up Wil-O-Way.

The school board will meet again at 7 p.m. March 15.

Boundary: Next meeting on March 15