Letter: District 41 Buildings Not Adequate to Meet Current or Future Student Needs

The League of Women Voters of Glen Ellyn conducted a year-long study of the facilities of Glen Ellyn School District 41 and CCSD 89 to determine if they were adequate to meet enrollment and program needs. This past spring, the study was presented to League members who came to the consensus that:

• the current facilities in CCSD89 are adequate to meet both current and projected enrollment needs and current and long-range program needs, although some space may need to be repurposed to meet changing program needs.  
• the current facilities in District 41 are not adequate to meet either current or projected enrollments, nor are they adequate to meet current or long-range program needs. Causes of these inadequacies were the extensive use of portable classrooms throughout the District, the inadequate space available within buildings, and the aging infrastructure in all buildings.

League members discussed how the D41 facilities might be improved. Those suggestions, which would require further study and consensus in order to be supported by LWVGE, included:

• building a new school
• renting or leasing a suitable facility from another entity
• consolidation with another contiguous district
• building additions to existing schools
• realigning D41 boundaries with another contiguous school district
• staggering the school day
• adopting a year-round school schedule 

Upgrading/updating the current portables was proposed as a last resort but not considered an acceptable way to improve conditions.           

The complete position can be viewed on the LWVGE website.

The League of Women Voters of Glen Ellyn is a nonpartisan political organization, which encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Membership in the League is open to men and women.—Jayne Boeckelman, LWVGE president