Cates: Help us decide land's future
Earlier this year, the Township High School District 211 community engaged in multiple forums to exchange information about the district's strengths, challenges and future direction. Drawing upon thousands of responses, the Board of Education drafted a Strategic Plan articulating District 211's priorities and course for the coming years.
As public school personnel, we recognize the responsibility and privilege of caring for our communities' greatest assets - our students. We also have a duty to optimize all resources entrusted to the district.
Among District 211's assets is a 60-acre parcel of undeveloped land surrounded by established residential neighborhoods on the eastern side of Schaumburg within the James B. Conant High School attendance area.
The parcel was purchased in two transactions in the event that the land might be needed to serve as the site of an additional high school. The first portion of 40 acres was purchased in 1966 and a second section of 20 acres was acquired in 1971.
Through prudent planning and efficient use of existing resources, an additional high school has not been needed.
One component of District 211's 2016 Strategic Plan is to determine how the district can maximize the benefit from this land. Board of Education Vice President Robert LeFevre best characterized the district's parcel of land in Schaumburg as a nonperforming asset. Our responsibility is to maximize the effectiveness of our resources and we are seeking ideas about how use of this land may provide long-lasting benefit.
We want to hear from our community members. From now until Nov. 30, the district is inviting ideas about potential uses of the land through a questionnaire available on the District 211 website at adc.d211.org.
From the list of ideas collected, we will begin reviewing their potential impact and benefits.
Through our community engagement initiative, we affirmed many attributes of our local communities and the value of our local school districts. We look forward to receiving many creative ideas that will further benefit our students and communities long into the future.
- Superintendent Daniel Cates