The new and improved Elizabeth Meyer School was finally ready to show off last month.
An Oct. 14 open house celebration of the new space was attended by Skokie School District 73.5 and Meyer School educators and families. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, state Rep. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, and Skokie mayor George Van Dusen were among other dignitaries who also attended.
The school for kindergarteners and pre-schoolers doubled its size this year, growing to 23,000 square feet with the addition of a new gym, library, playground and more, according to school officials.
The cost of the new addition was about $9 million, School District 73.5 officials said.
The district is paying for the construction, along with a more modest one-room expansion at Middleton School, by selling $10.3 million in bonds. Taxpayers will not pay more in taxes each year, school district leaders said, because of how the bonds are structured.
Meyer’s one-story new construction created seven new classrooms, including a room for art and music, a gross motor room for special education students and three small instructional offices as well as a modern playground.
Students’ families and members of the community were able to tour the classrooms and play areas during the open house.
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Enrollment at School District 73.5 is not expected to increase significantly, officials have said. However, the addition does allow more special education students attending Molloy Education Center in Morton Grove to be taught at Meyer, Supt. Kate Donegan said.
Some students have been educated out of district due to limited space, she said.
Donegan has estimated that 16 such students will ultimately return to Meyer now that the addition is in place.
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