Post by d204mom on Jan 23, 2008 16:09:08 GMT -6
New Dist. 204 high school secures a home
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 1/23/2008 12:36 AM
In a move described by one school board member as nothing short of a miracle, Metea Valley High School has a home in northern Aurora.
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 board members, with a packed meeting room watching them, unanimously supported placing the new high school on the nearly 87-acre parcel along Eola Road south of Diehl Road.
"Quite frankly I think it is a miracle," board member Alka Tyle said of the district's ability to rebound so quickly from the failed Brach-Brodie land acquisition and locate a new site. "I think most people don't realize the hours and number of people involved in getting us where we are today."
A majority of the two dozen district residents asking to speak to the board members Tuesday night supported purchasing the Eola site for about $16.5 million from St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation, an independent power producer.
Supporters called the move a wise financial decision that would ease the overcrowding burden on both Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools, which would likely then serve the central and southern portions of the 46-square-mile district.
Even board member Christine Vickers, a longtime opponent of adding a third high school, supported the land purchase with the expectations that the project stick to the approximate $146 million budget and adhere to the August 2009 opening deadline.
"It is time to move on. The voters came out in 2006 and overturned the 2005 (referendum) decision and made it a 'yes,'" Vickers said. "With that, fiscal responsibility in mind and Brach-Brodie being unreachable financially, I am ready to move forward and believe that this is the best possible solution for the district today."
Officials hope the bulk of the building will be done by August 2009, with extras like the pool and auditorium to be completed later. Freshmen and sophomores will move in first.
Waubonsie Valley's freshmen building would be converted in August 2009 into a middle school.
Those speaking out against the decision urged the board to ensure the Eola site was free and clear of harmful electromagnetic fields from nearby power lines and that the soil is free from any potential hazards from the Midwest Generation plant.
School leaders say there are no safety concerns with the site. The plant is working toward meeting specific environmental standards, and consultants have determined the school is far enough away from power lines.
The concerns, however, prompted district President Mark Metzger to make an addition to the motion that gave the district permission to enter contracts to purchase the Eola site.
"I want to make sure the public knows that we've dealt with the environmental issues," he said.
The motion's addendum states the property must be "completely remediated of any and all environmental issues" before the anticipated March 10 closing.
Tuesday's action winds down a "crazy time" in the district where board members previously identified the Brach-Brodie property at 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora as the best site for their third high school.
The district, which covers parts of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, already owns 25 acres at that location and wanted to buy an additional 55 to create an 80-acre campus.
But the landowners and school leaders were unable to agree on a price and the district pursued condemnation. A jury decided the site was worth $31 million -- $17 million more than the district planned.
Officials hope to sell the 25 acres and use those proceeds to help fund the new land purchase.
During Tuesday's presentation Superintendent Stephen Daeschner also discussed two other potential sites and the reasons they were dismissed, including an 80-acre, $14 million parcel in southeast Aurora called Hamman Farms.
It lies just outside the district's southwestern boundaries, and Daeschner said he expected it would be difficult to obtain.
"It's a really nice site and we would have loved to have it," he said, "but we couldn't have gotten it fast enough to build in '09."
They also considered an 86-acre parcel for roughly $17.9 million along 248th Avenue in southwest Naperville. But it's too close to Neuqua Valley and negotiating with the Macom site's multiple landowners would be a long, complicated process, leaders say.
After the meeting, Daeschner said he's happy things worked out the way they did.
"This is going to be good," he said. "This is going to be special."
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 1/23/2008 12:36 AM
In a move described by one school board member as nothing short of a miracle, Metea Valley High School has a home in northern Aurora.
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 board members, with a packed meeting room watching them, unanimously supported placing the new high school on the nearly 87-acre parcel along Eola Road south of Diehl Road.
"Quite frankly I think it is a miracle," board member Alka Tyle said of the district's ability to rebound so quickly from the failed Brach-Brodie land acquisition and locate a new site. "I think most people don't realize the hours and number of people involved in getting us where we are today."
A majority of the two dozen district residents asking to speak to the board members Tuesday night supported purchasing the Eola site for about $16.5 million from St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation, an independent power producer.
Supporters called the move a wise financial decision that would ease the overcrowding burden on both Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools, which would likely then serve the central and southern portions of the 46-square-mile district.
Even board member Christine Vickers, a longtime opponent of adding a third high school, supported the land purchase with the expectations that the project stick to the approximate $146 million budget and adhere to the August 2009 opening deadline.
"It is time to move on. The voters came out in 2006 and overturned the 2005 (referendum) decision and made it a 'yes,'" Vickers said. "With that, fiscal responsibility in mind and Brach-Brodie being unreachable financially, I am ready to move forward and believe that this is the best possible solution for the district today."
Officials hope the bulk of the building will be done by August 2009, with extras like the pool and auditorium to be completed later. Freshmen and sophomores will move in first.
Waubonsie Valley's freshmen building would be converted in August 2009 into a middle school.
Those speaking out against the decision urged the board to ensure the Eola site was free and clear of harmful electromagnetic fields from nearby power lines and that the soil is free from any potential hazards from the Midwest Generation plant.
School leaders say there are no safety concerns with the site. The plant is working toward meeting specific environmental standards, and consultants have determined the school is far enough away from power lines.
The concerns, however, prompted district President Mark Metzger to make an addition to the motion that gave the district permission to enter contracts to purchase the Eola site.
"I want to make sure the public knows that we've dealt with the environmental issues," he said.
The motion's addendum states the property must be "completely remediated of any and all environmental issues" before the anticipated March 10 closing.
Tuesday's action winds down a "crazy time" in the district where board members previously identified the Brach-Brodie property at 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora as the best site for their third high school.
The district, which covers parts of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, already owns 25 acres at that location and wanted to buy an additional 55 to create an 80-acre campus.
But the landowners and school leaders were unable to agree on a price and the district pursued condemnation. A jury decided the site was worth $31 million -- $17 million more than the district planned.
Officials hope to sell the 25 acres and use those proceeds to help fund the new land purchase.
During Tuesday's presentation Superintendent Stephen Daeschner also discussed two other potential sites and the reasons they were dismissed, including an 80-acre, $14 million parcel in southeast Aurora called Hamman Farms.
It lies just outside the district's southwestern boundaries, and Daeschner said he expected it would be difficult to obtain.
"It's a really nice site and we would have loved to have it," he said, "but we couldn't have gotten it fast enough to build in '09."
They also considered an 86-acre parcel for roughly $17.9 million along 248th Avenue in southwest Naperville. But it's too close to Neuqua Valley and negotiating with the Macom site's multiple landowners would be a long, complicated process, leaders say.
After the meeting, Daeschner said he's happy things worked out the way they did.
"This is going to be good," he said. "This is going to be special."
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