D41 Tables Decision to Make Offer on Wheaton College Property

Updated 11:13 a.m.

The Glen Ellyn School District 41 Board of Education on Monday tabled its agenda item that would authorize Superintendent Dr. Ann Riebock to make a formal offer on Wheaton College property at 1825 College Ave.

Faced with overcrowding in the district and the need to eliminate the use of 32 portable classrooms, District 41 officials decided on the 15-acre Wheaton College property as the site for a new Hadley Junior High School.

The property, however, is not for sale. If Wheaton College does not negotiate with District 41, the district would try to acquire the property by eminent domain. 

District 41 board member Drew Ellis motioned to table the board's discussion because of the complexity of the issue and his desire to determine what the board's priorities are from a community standpoint.

Master facilities planning has been going on for years, he said, and getting kids out of trailers has been an overriding issue.

But if getting kids out of trailers is not a community priority, he said, "Then we need to re-align what we should be doing."

Board member Sam Black said the board is not discussing the Wheaton College land acquisition because they want to, "We're doing this because we're required... Portables cannot be a permanent solution."

If, for whatever reason, we don't pursue this option, we have to keep going and (future) boards have to keep going until they're (portables) gone," he said.

At an April 3 community meeting, residents and neighbors of the property, which lies in Wheaton, voiced concern about the acquisition and criticized the plan to pursue eminent domain.

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"We would hope we would continue to be able to have negotiations and find something agreeable," Riebock said at the meeting. 

Patch will add updates to this story Tuesday, April 9.

Related:

• Residents Criticize D41 Plan To Take College Property By Eminent Domain
• Where Else Did District 41 Look to Build a New Hadley?