Final school building additions taking shape in Glen Ellyn District 41
Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41's goal of eliminating portable classrooms at all elementary schools should be realized by next spring with the opening of the last of five brick-and-mortar additions, officials said Wednesday.
But a longer-term solution for the district's overall facility issues - namely, the 10 portable classrooms that remain at Hadley Junior High School and how to house a possible full-day kindergarten program - may take longer.
As many as 600 students were in 32 portable classrooms across the district as recently as the end of last school year, when construction began on additions to Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin elementary schools. Four new classrooms per school opened in time for students' return from winter break.
Construction continues on additions to the district's other two elementary schools, Forest Glen and Churchill. Underground work is complete and walls have gone up at both locations, with interior finishes such as drywall installation and painting still to be done. Four new classrooms per school are expected to be ready for the start of the school year in August, said Dave Scarmardo, the district's director of building and grounds.
Construction on another four classrooms at Churchill will begin next month, allowing the four remaining portable classrooms in the front of the school to be removed by next January. The Glen Ellyn village board this week granted the project exterior appearance approval.
In the short term, the four classrooms will become homerooms, but school officials eventually want to convert pairs of classrooms to larger 1,800-square-foot "STEM/STEAM" labs where instruction in science, technology, engineering, arts and math will be emphasized.
Scarmardo said it was always the intention of district officials to build two additions at Churchill, but the projects didn't start at the same time due to budgetary reasons.
The building additions at all four schools cost about $15 million.
The district can't afford the additional funds it would take to build an addition onto Hadley and eliminate the remaining portable classrooms, said Erika Krehbiel, the district's spokeswoman.
With discussions ongoing about possible full-day kindergarten, district officials have proposed three facility options on how to house it: building a new K-5 school on the site of the former Spaulding School, constructing an early learning center on the Spaulding site, or putting on more additions at existing buildings.
District officials are now putting together a community task force to evaluate those options, and that group is expected to compile a report for the school board.
About 3,600 students attend District 41's four elementary schools and one junior high school.