Palatine District 15 examining options for school boundary changes

The conversation about school boundary changes in Palatine Township Elementary District 15 took a leap forward this week with the first public presentation from consultants hired earlier this year, although district officials sought to reassure residents by saying no changes will take place next school year.

The presentation was given virtually at the school board meeting Wednesday by Robert Schwarz, CEO of RSP Associates, after a delay to due COVID-19. Schwarz, whose firm was hired in March, outlined three updated "concepts," after getting feedback from school officials about four options previously outlined by a volunteer boundaries task force.

Al> three options presented by RSP Associates include full-day kindergarten at each elementary school and the elimination of "bilingual overlay," so that every student would attend a neighborhood school.

The bilingual overlay system was started in 1974, and later adjusted in 2001, to provide services for bilingual students in "cluster" sites, according to district documents from last year.

In 2019, more than 600 bilingual students attended schools not in their home attendance areas. While the system's strengths include having siblings attend the same school, it also compromises the ability of parents to fully participate in their children's education, documents state.

One of the three options presented by RSP Associates includes a complete "feeder" system from elementary to junior high and high schools, so students who learn together attend the same schools as they grow older. Two options include a new elementary school in the Park Place shopping center, near Dundee and Rand roads on the northeast side of the district.

Costs for the plans would range from $28.6 million to $68.1 million, based on estimates from STR Architecture, Schwarz said.

The district's enrollment, now at nearly 12,000, is projected to decrease to 10,800 by 2024-25, mirroring decreases in the last few years. However, attendance at some schools - including Hunting Ridge, Lake Louise, Pleasant Hill and Willow Bend elementary schools - would be above capacity under some of the options.

All the options, including those presented by the boundaries task force, can be viewed online as agenda attachments for the Sept. 9 school board meeting at ccsd15.net/Page/9582. They can also be viewed directly here.

School officials said the conversation will be ongoing and no school boundary changes are imminent.

"There is a negative percent chance that any of this will happen in 2021-22," Superintendent Laurie Heinz said.

The school district is committed to seeking community input before making a decision, Board President Lisa Szczupaj said.

"This is a community process, and this basically is our step one in beginning that engagement and making an effort to further define the wants and needs of the community more in depth," Szczupaj said.

The board will continue the discussion at its meeting in October, including outlining a comprehensive plan to seek community feedback. It's unclear what that will look like during COVID-19, district spokeswoman Morgan Delack said.

"We will look for a venue or a meaningful digital option to engage people in discussions," she said, adding the effort will include outreach to bilingual families.

The district began examining boundary reconfiguration about two years ago to address capacity concerns at schools where enrollment was increasing and to address problems related to current boundary lines.

The boundaries task force conducted a survey in late 2018 showing that district residents' priorities were to have neighborhood schools; align attendance of elementary, junior high and high school; have smaller class sizes; have full-day kindergarten; and alleviate overcrowding.

The district paid $32,000 to RSP Associates for its enrollment and boundary analysis. An estimated $23,000 more would be paid next school year for an updated enrollment analysis.

The school board last week also agreed to take more time to decide on a tentative deal for the possible new Park Place elementary school, requesting another 120-day extension for the due-diligence period.

Under the tentative deal reached in summer 2019, a shuttered Whole Foods Market and other adjacent space totaling about 80,000 square feet would be renovated to create up to 32 classrooms.