School District U46 wants to sell 12.1 acres of unused land adjoining Hawk Hollow Elementary School in Bartlett, using the proceeds to help fund school additions and full-day kindergarten.
Known as “the Jacaranda Property,” the land is at 1681 Gerber Road. District officials say it is suitable to be used for residential construction. It has been vacant since the school was built adjacent to it in 2001-2002.
Last week the board of education approved putting the land up for auction, with a minimum bid of $1.25 million. The bid documents say that is equal to 81 percent of the value an appraiser put on the land.
Six board members voted to approve the sale. Board member Jeanette Ward voted “present.” She explained that “I don’t think a school district should hold onto land it doesn’t need,” yet she also couldn’t vote for the sale because the money would be used to defray some of the expense of offering dull-day kindergarten classes throughout the district and she opposes offering full-day kindergarten.
Ward said she also wonders whether neighbors will be angry when the buyer starts building something on the land. She said there is a rumor that a developer wants to erect more than a dozen homes on the property.
Ward said the Bartlett Hawks use the land as a practice field and a teacher uses it for gym classes. Chief Operating Officer Jeff King said the Hawks could use a different U46-owned practice field, and the teacher can use a field on the other side of the campus.
“If we don’t need it, we should do everything we can to sell it,” said board member Phil Costello.
King said the district tried to sell the land soon after the school was built but at that time the deal was derailed by DuPage County concerns about wetlands.