Vernon Hills has taken a step toward leaving the North Suburban Conference.
Dr. Prentiss Lea, the superintendent of District 128 (which includes Vernon Hills) confirmed that Vernon Hills is interested in joining the Central Suburban League.
“After further assessment and review with Vernon Hills High School principal Jon Guillaume and athletic director Brian McDonald, I have submitted a letter to the CSL on behalf of VHHS requesting consideration for membership in 2016-2017,” Lea said in an email.
Earlier this month, Waukegan, a 40-year member of the CSL, accepted an invitation to join the North Suburban Eight conference for its inaugural year in 2016-17. The move created a vacancy in the 12-school CSL.
Glenbrook North athletic director John Catalano, president of the CSL athletic directors, said the league wants to replace Waukegan.
“We are trying to get the word out that we don’t want to be a conference of 11,” Catalano said.
Vernon Hills’ move stems from last year’s news that six teams from the 14-team NSC were leaving to form a yet-to-be-named conference in 2016-17. Those schools — Grant, Wauconda, Lakes, Round Lake, North Chicago and Antioch — were six of the seven teams in the NSC Prairie Division. Vernon Hills was the seventh.
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Vernon Hills was not invited to join the unnamed conference (which will also include Grayslake Central and Grayslake North) and had said it was exploring options other than remaining in the reshuffled NSC. If it stays, its enrollment of 1,316 students would make it the smallest of the NSC, which would include Stevenson, Warren, Lake Zurich, Lake Forest, Mundelein, Libertyville, Zion-Benton and Waukegan.
All of those schools, with the exception of Lake Forest (1,656) and Libertyville (1,956), have enrollments over 2,000.
“We’ve been very up front with the superintendents that we need to look at alternative options with Vernon Hills,” Lea said in phone interview. “There are obvious size disparities with the [North Suburban] conference.”
Catalano said the CSL is accepting letters of interest through April 30. He added that as of March 24, Vernon Hills was the only school to submit a letter.
A recommendation will be made to the conference principals (also known as the Board of Control) on May 3. The Board of Control’s decision is expected to be made on May 4.