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Developer wants to change Lake County high school districts

Lake County's regional school board next week could decide if a small residential subdivision in Lake Forest is allowed to switch high school districts.

The Willow Lake Farms subdivision, which is east of the Tri-State Tollway and north of Route 60, is part of Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128.

The developer, Red Seal Homes of Northbrook, wants the neighborhood to switch to Lake Forest High School District 115.

Willow Lake Farms contains 53 lots, only two of which contain occupied homes, attorney Jim Bakk said.

Because so few of the homes have been built, this is the right time to change school district boundaries, Bakk said.

“Before people start moving in,” he said.

The Lake County regional board of education will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Monday, July 7. It's set for 7 p.m. in Room C003 at the College of Lake County, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake.

District 128 officials have discussed the issue, a spokeswoman said. It wasn't immediately clear if they plan to fight the request.

The properties are part of what was once Conway Farms, Bakk said. That land was the source of a long and expensive court battle over school district boundaries and property-tax revenue in the 1990s.

A Lake County judge eventually ended the dispute by ordering the districts to share tax dollars.

The parcels, which are on the city's southwest side, already are within Lake Forest Elementary District 67. Adjusting the high school district boundaries would make them align with the grade school lines, he said.

The regional board could vote on the developer's request after the public hearing, Bakk said.

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