Puffer-Hefty school officials got a little breathing room when the DuPage County Regional Board of School Trustees agreed to reconsider whether a group of residents has gathered enough names on a petition to legally dissolve DuPage County’s smallest school district.
At a Monday night meeting, trustees decided to revisit 23 pages of signatures, after district officials filed challenges to the dissolution petition. The board has given attorneys for the petitioners until April 27 to respond.
Despite the ruling, District 69 officials acknowledge that even if they prevail on this technical point, it might not be enough to halt the dissolution effort.
“We are encouraged that they are willing to revisit the issue,” said Supt. Gary Zabilka. “We felt that last month all the rulings went against us. But after last night, we feel there is a glimmer of hope.”
The district is hoping to stave off a group of residents who have been trying since 1996 to close down Puffer-Hefty, which has one building, 400 pupils and 25 teachers. The residents, known as the Committee of 10, want the district to join the 5,000-pupil Downers Grove Grade School District 58, where, they contend, their youngsters will get better educational and extracurricular opportunities.
The committee collected nearly 1,200 signatures on a petition–about 180 more than needed under state law. But the district and committee have spent years haggling over the legality of each signature.
Last month, a hearing officer with the regional board ruled, effectively, that residents had gathered the necessary signatures to close down a school district.
On Monday, however, Trustee Laura Pollastrini said she was not convinced. She wants trustees to reconsider the district’s petition, which contains the signatures of residents who signed the dissolution petition, but have since change their minds.
The board agreed.
The 3 1/2-year legal battle has driven a wedge through the community. Monday night’s two-hour hearing drew more than 50 residents, some of whom mumbled disparaging remarks about the opposing side–utterances that were not lost on trustees.
“I see a division in the community, and there is a lot of pain there,” Pollastrini said. “I’ve read all the letters that you’ve sent us, and I want you to know there is not a whole lot we can do. We have to follow the statute.”
The Committee of 10 is using an obscure state law that allows a school district to be dissolved if more than half the registered voters in a town of less than 5,000 people sign a petition. The district has 1,947 registered voters.