Six elementary schools will close, two elementary schools will be built and an early learning center will be converted into an elementary school under plans proposed Monday to the District U-46 School Board.
“We do not take these decisions or recommendations lightly,” Deputy Superintendent Ann Williams said at the meeting. “We know that this is difficult news for many of our staff, students, families and community members.
“However, we are committed to providing safe, modern learning environments for all of our students and the recommendations presented this evening represent a start by announcing we will move students out of several of our elementary schools with the most pressing needs and into improved, updated or even brand new learning spaces.”
The proposal comes as the latest development in ongoing plans to address building incapacities and grade restructuring throughout the district, part of which will be funded with money approved in a referendum in April.
Williams and district Chief of Staff Brian Lindholm said the recommendations were:
Lowrie, McKinley and Washington elementary schools in Elgin close in June 2027.
Century Oaks Elementary in Elgin and Hanover Countryside and Glenbrook elementaries in Streamwood close on dates yet to be determined.
A new elementary school be built somewhere on Elgin’s northeast side on a date yet to be determined.
A new elementary school be built in the Hanover Park/Streamwood area on a date yet to be determined.
A feasibility study about converting Illinois Park Center for Early Learning in Elgin into an elementary school be conducted.
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Parkwood Elementary in Hanover Park be monitored for possible consolidation at a later date.
Additions and renovations be considered for Gifford and Highland elementary schools in Elgin.
Elementary school boundaries be revised and information communicated to families and residents in fall 2024.
This is in addition to previously announced plans to expand Kimball Middle School in Elgin and Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, build a new Elgin middle school at 2604 Rohrssen Road, and close Ellis and Abbott middle schools in Elgin will close at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Preliminary cost estimates for the newer proposal indicate the work at Gifford and Highland would be a combined $33 million; each new elementary school would be about $60 million; and conversion of Illinois Park into an elementary school would require about $10 million.
The moves would rebalance class sizes and staffing to provide the best opportunities for students in the wake of declining enrollments, mostly tied to a drop in the birth rates, the admininistrators said.
In August 2018, U-46 had 20,000 elementary school students attending 40 schools, with an average of 500 students per building, Lindholm said. Projections for August 2026 put those numbers at 13,500 students attending 38 schools with average attendance at 335 students per building.
The 2026-27 school year also is when the district plans to move sixth-graders from the elementary system into middle schools.
District U-46 has a number of aging buildings. McKinley, Washington and Lowrie all date back to the late 1800s, sit on relatively small lots and have issues related to their age, the officials said.
“In fact as recently as 2021, Lowrie had a catastrophic plumbing failure that resulted in no water to a portion of the building for several days, porta potties on site and kids eating lunch in their classrooms as the lunchroom was also inaccessible at the time,” Lindholm said.
Century Oaks was built in the early 1970s but the school’s design isn’t conducive to learning, he said.
“Since there aren’t really any hallways in the instructional area of the building students and staff often need to walk through one classroom to get to another,” Lindholm said.
However, because Century Oaks stands on eight acres of land, the district might consider building a new school at the location, he said.
The district is seeking the community’s input on the proposals. Discussion sessions will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, and Wednesday, March 13, at Elgin High School, 1200 Maroon Drive. The talks will focus on boundary planning criteria and parameters.
More information and community meeting attendance registration is available online at www.u-46.org/uniteu46.
The district also sent an email to staff and families after Monday’s meeting providing an update of the night’s presentation and an overview of the sites discussed.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.