Mount Prospect District 57 celebrates pair of school building expansions

Mount Prospect Elementary School District 57, long bedeviled by a lack of classroom space, now has more room for students at both Fairview Elementary School and Lions Park School.

The district celebrated the recent expansions last week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Lions Park, which this year added four classrooms and expanded the multipurpose room/cafeteria.

"It was critically important, because we wouldn't have had enough classrooms this year," Principal Katie Kelly said. "Last year, we grew by one section, which put us at capacity. Then, we would have been over capacity this year."

The Fairview expansion, completed in 2019, also included four new classrooms, an expanded multipurpose room and additional storage in the back of the gym.

Officials said voters' approval of a tax increase in 2018 was crucial.

"The Lions Park expansion would not have been possible without the support of the community, so we're eager to show residents how the new space enables us to better serve the students of today and tomorrow," Superintendent Mary Gorr said.

Former District 57 board member Rachael Rothrauff added, "Were it not done when we chose to do it, I think that there would have been just an even stronger need over the next few years as the population grows and more people move in."

Along with district officials, students and parents, Mount Prospect Mayor Paul Hoefert attended last week's ceremony and then toured Lions Park.

"The fact is that people move to communities because of quality education and quality schools, and Mount Prospect is blessed from top to bottom and side to side with outstanding schools, and District 57 schools are certainly a big part of that," he said.

Adam Gruen, parent of fifth- and eighth-graders in District 57, said he was impressed with the new classroom space.

"It gives the students the modern tools to be able to learn," he said.