Post by refbasics on Feb 20, 2008 8:16:34 GMT -6
www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=138429
District 204 sets new school borders
Amended plan wins unanimous approval
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 2/20/2008 6:15 AM | Updated: 2/20/2008 7:41 AM
The boundary proposals put forth by Indian Prairie Unit District 204 last week were supposed to stand the test of time. Yet they failed to withstand a 5½-hour school board meeting Tuesday night.
Board members unanimously approved the new attendance boundaries for the high school, middle school and elementary school levels in the district that covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook, but not before amending Deputy Superintendent Kathryn Birkett's high school boundary proposal twice.
Amendments meted out late Tuesday will keep some of the district's easternmost students closer to home and eliminate one of the three splits students at Peterson Elementary School would have to endure at the onset of the 2009-10 school year.
The changes were made after board members listened to nearly all of the 70 residents who signed in to speak out on the plan and some of the nearly 450 in attendance who didn't.
Attendees filled the board room will nearly 200 watched on televisions in adjoining overflow rooms.
Owen East stays
Under the original high school boundary proposal, elementary students from Brookdale, Brooks, most of Cowlishaw, some of Gombert, Longwood, Owen, Watts and Young elementary schools eventually will attend the new Metea Valley.
Tuesday night, however, board members agreed to allow the area known as Owen East, east of Naperville-Plainfield road just south of 75th Street, to remain at Waubonsie, rather than move students to the new Metea Valley High School.
Several community members from the Owen East area, including Ron Swanstrom, pleaded not to be left with the district's longest one-way commute, roughly 40 minutes, to Metea Valley.
"They're staying where they are without changing a significant population of Still Middle School going to Waubonsie Valley," said board President Mark Metzger, drawing applause from the Owen parents in attendance.
Fry and White Eagle elementary students will leave the Neuqua Valley High School boundary area for the Waubonsie Valley High School attendance area along the district's western edge, much to the dismay of several Fry parents in attendance.
A majority of parents from the Fry attendance area attempted to persuade the board to instead send students from the farther northeastern Welch School to Waubonsie.
Split cut to two
The second amendment to the administration's proposal will send Peterson Elementary School students from the Ashwood Park neighborhood to Scullen Middle School and on to Waubonsie Valley. The move reduces the three-way split proposed for Peterson students to two with Peterson students attending both Crone and Scullen middle schools.
The move, they said, may cause them to look at the area in the future if development picks back up in the Ashwood Park neighborhood.
"Ashwood has been left behind, and it makes a lot more sense to take Fry and go contiguous with Fry and White Eagle and Peterson," Metzger said acknowledging the disappointed Fry parents who interrupted several times asking "What about Fry?"
Board member Bruce Glawe, who lives in White Eagle, said he cast his vote for the new plan reluctantly.
"I feel terrible for the Fry people, I really, really do" Glawe said. "I know how disruptive that is and I know the hurt and emotion and everything else.
"I spent my whole weekend trying to come up with a better solution."
Officials were forced to redraw the boundaries after cost concerns caused them to scrap plans to build the new Metea Valley High School on the Brach-Brodie property near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.
With the school now scheduled for construction along Eola Road near Diehl Road in the northern part of the district, boundaries that were prepared with the Brach-Brodie site in mind no longer are workable.
The high school boundaries will go into effect in August 2009. Under the elementary school boundary part of the plan that goes into effect in August of this year, 201 Builta students from Timber Creek and Kinloch and 26 Clow students from Rivercrest will attend Spring Brook Elementary.
Additionally, two Cowlishaw students from Plaza on New York and 30 Longwood students from Railway Plaza will attend Watts.
The 34 Longwood students from the Townhomes of Country Lakes will move to Brookdale, 36 students from McCarty's Chesapeake Landing will move to Cowlishaw and 23 students from Young Elementary School's Legacy Fields subdivision will move to Steck.
District 204 sets new school borders
Amended plan wins unanimous approval
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 2/20/2008 6:15 AM | Updated: 2/20/2008 7:41 AM
The boundary proposals put forth by Indian Prairie Unit District 204 last week were supposed to stand the test of time. Yet they failed to withstand a 5½-hour school board meeting Tuesday night.
Board members unanimously approved the new attendance boundaries for the high school, middle school and elementary school levels in the district that covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook, but not before amending Deputy Superintendent Kathryn Birkett's high school boundary proposal twice.
Amendments meted out late Tuesday will keep some of the district's easternmost students closer to home and eliminate one of the three splits students at Peterson Elementary School would have to endure at the onset of the 2009-10 school year.
The changes were made after board members listened to nearly all of the 70 residents who signed in to speak out on the plan and some of the nearly 450 in attendance who didn't.
Attendees filled the board room will nearly 200 watched on televisions in adjoining overflow rooms.
Owen East stays
Under the original high school boundary proposal, elementary students from Brookdale, Brooks, most of Cowlishaw, some of Gombert, Longwood, Owen, Watts and Young elementary schools eventually will attend the new Metea Valley.
Tuesday night, however, board members agreed to allow the area known as Owen East, east of Naperville-Plainfield road just south of 75th Street, to remain at Waubonsie, rather than move students to the new Metea Valley High School.
Several community members from the Owen East area, including Ron Swanstrom, pleaded not to be left with the district's longest one-way commute, roughly 40 minutes, to Metea Valley.
"They're staying where they are without changing a significant population of Still Middle School going to Waubonsie Valley," said board President Mark Metzger, drawing applause from the Owen parents in attendance.
Fry and White Eagle elementary students will leave the Neuqua Valley High School boundary area for the Waubonsie Valley High School attendance area along the district's western edge, much to the dismay of several Fry parents in attendance.
A majority of parents from the Fry attendance area attempted to persuade the board to instead send students from the farther northeastern Welch School to Waubonsie.
Split cut to two
The second amendment to the administration's proposal will send Peterson Elementary School students from the Ashwood Park neighborhood to Scullen Middle School and on to Waubonsie Valley. The move reduces the three-way split proposed for Peterson students to two with Peterson students attending both Crone and Scullen middle schools.
The move, they said, may cause them to look at the area in the future if development picks back up in the Ashwood Park neighborhood.
"Ashwood has been left behind, and it makes a lot more sense to take Fry and go contiguous with Fry and White Eagle and Peterson," Metzger said acknowledging the disappointed Fry parents who interrupted several times asking "What about Fry?"
Board member Bruce Glawe, who lives in White Eagle, said he cast his vote for the new plan reluctantly.
"I feel terrible for the Fry people, I really, really do" Glawe said. "I know how disruptive that is and I know the hurt and emotion and everything else.
"I spent my whole weekend trying to come up with a better solution."
Officials were forced to redraw the boundaries after cost concerns caused them to scrap plans to build the new Metea Valley High School on the Brach-Brodie property near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.
With the school now scheduled for construction along Eola Road near Diehl Road in the northern part of the district, boundaries that were prepared with the Brach-Brodie site in mind no longer are workable.
The high school boundaries will go into effect in August 2009. Under the elementary school boundary part of the plan that goes into effect in August of this year, 201 Builta students from Timber Creek and Kinloch and 26 Clow students from Rivercrest will attend Spring Brook Elementary.
Additionally, two Cowlishaw students from Plaza on New York and 30 Longwood students from Railway Plaza will attend Watts.
The 34 Longwood students from the Townhomes of Country Lakes will move to Brookdale, 36 students from McCarty's Chesapeake Landing will move to Cowlishaw and 23 students from Young Elementary School's Legacy Fields subdivision will move to Steck.
