Post by proschool on Apr 10, 2008 14:34:05 GMT -6
Seller backs out of Metea Valley land deal
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 4/10/2008 2:37 PM | Updated: 4/10/2008 3:10 PMSend To:
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(0) | read | post Buzz up!Indian Prairie Unit District 204 can no longer build Metea Valley High School on the Eola Road site as planned.
Midwest Generation announced today it is backing out of a deal to sell 37 acres to the district on Eola just south of Diehl Road in Aurora, according to a district-wide e-mail.
District 204 had planned to combine the land with 49 acres it planned to purchase from St. John AME Church to construct a 3,000-student facility to ease overcrowding at Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie high schools.
"We are currently investigating fiscally responsible land options that will move construction forward to ease the overcrowding," Superintendent Stephen Daeschner said in the e-mail. "I will continue to bring you updates as we have more information."
The district had come under considerable fire in recent months from a group of parents called Neighborhood Schools for Our Children, which filed a lawsuit in an attempt to force the district to return to the original Brach-Brodie property it had selected for the school near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.
The district abandoned plans for that site when a jury in condemnation proceedings set the price for 55 acres at $31 million - roughly $17 million more than school officials thought it was worth.
Attorney Shawn Collins, who represents the parents group and raised numerous questions about the environmental safety of the Eola Road site, said he takes no joy in the Midwest Generation decision.
He said he hopes the company's letter forces the district to refocus its attention on acquiring the Brach-Brodie property. If it does, he said, the parents he represents will drop their lawsuit.
Collins said he hopes Thursday's developments also force the district to take a more measured and considered view of what it's doing and to "realistically and rationally evaluate where it is."
"This has been a disaster in the way the district has handled itself and I can only hope that this jarring event will get the district back on track," he said.
That track, he said, should take the district far away from the Eola Road site and the environmental concerns that have been raised there.
"It is the right decision to turn away from Eola-Molitor," he said.
A member of the parents group, Jasmine Sohaey Grassi, released a statement Thursday that read in part:
"While the school board originally eliminated this land (Eola Road) for safety reasons and then changed its mind - NSFOC has always believed that this site was not a safe place to build a school.
"We thank Midwest Generation for having the wisdom and good judgment to reconsider selling this land to the (District 204) school board. We regret that the … school board did not exhibit the same wisdom or good judgment. To date, this board has shown the concerned residents of District 204 that neither the safety of children, fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers nor accountability for their actions are priorities for them.
"With this site no longer an option, we feel this is an excellent opportunity for the … school board to return to what the voters voted for in the 2006 referendum after a long and very effective marketing campaign conducted by the school board: (1) A third high school (2) on the Brach-Brodie land at 75th Street and Route 59 (3) with the original boundaries that were sold to the voters."
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 4/10/2008 2:37 PM | Updated: 4/10/2008 3:10 PMSend To:
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(0) | read | post Buzz up!Indian Prairie Unit District 204 can no longer build Metea Valley High School on the Eola Road site as planned.
Midwest Generation announced today it is backing out of a deal to sell 37 acres to the district on Eola just south of Diehl Road in Aurora, according to a district-wide e-mail.
District 204 had planned to combine the land with 49 acres it planned to purchase from St. John AME Church to construct a 3,000-student facility to ease overcrowding at Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie high schools.
"We are currently investigating fiscally responsible land options that will move construction forward to ease the overcrowding," Superintendent Stephen Daeschner said in the e-mail. "I will continue to bring you updates as we have more information."
The district had come under considerable fire in recent months from a group of parents called Neighborhood Schools for Our Children, which filed a lawsuit in an attempt to force the district to return to the original Brach-Brodie property it had selected for the school near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.
The district abandoned plans for that site when a jury in condemnation proceedings set the price for 55 acres at $31 million - roughly $17 million more than school officials thought it was worth.
Attorney Shawn Collins, who represents the parents group and raised numerous questions about the environmental safety of the Eola Road site, said he takes no joy in the Midwest Generation decision.
He said he hopes the company's letter forces the district to refocus its attention on acquiring the Brach-Brodie property. If it does, he said, the parents he represents will drop their lawsuit.
Collins said he hopes Thursday's developments also force the district to take a more measured and considered view of what it's doing and to "realistically and rationally evaluate where it is."
"This has been a disaster in the way the district has handled itself and I can only hope that this jarring event will get the district back on track," he said.
That track, he said, should take the district far away from the Eola Road site and the environmental concerns that have been raised there.
"It is the right decision to turn away from Eola-Molitor," he said.
A member of the parents group, Jasmine Sohaey Grassi, released a statement Thursday that read in part:
"While the school board originally eliminated this land (Eola Road) for safety reasons and then changed its mind - NSFOC has always believed that this site was not a safe place to build a school.
"We thank Midwest Generation for having the wisdom and good judgment to reconsider selling this land to the (District 204) school board. We regret that the … school board did not exhibit the same wisdom or good judgment. To date, this board has shown the concerned residents of District 204 that neither the safety of children, fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers nor accountability for their actions are priorities for them.
"With this site no longer an option, we feel this is an excellent opportunity for the … school board to return to what the voters voted for in the 2006 referendum after a long and very effective marketing campaign conducted by the school board: (1) A third high school (2) on the Brach-Brodie land at 75th Street and Route 59 (3) with the original boundaries that were sold to the voters."
