District 155 Considers Boundary Changes

Community High School District 155 is looking to make some changes to its boundaries between Cary-Grove High School and Prairie Ridge High School.

As enrollment numbers for Cary Community Consolidated School District 26 decrease, the high school district saw an opportunity for all District 26 students to be able to attend Cary-Grove High School, spokesperson Jeff Puma said.

As the boundaries are now, there are two areas where the elementary district boundaries differ from the high school boundaries, leaving some District 26 students to attend Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake.

"It's a complex issue with a lot of sites to look at, and we'll move through it," District 155 Superintendent Jill Hawk said.

The District 155 school board will hold two public comment sessions in October–one at each high school campus–for residents before moving forward on changes.

The meetings will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at Cary-Grove High School and 7 p.m. Oct. 14 at Prairie Ridge High School.

The issue will then be brought back to the board for discussion and possible approval as early as the Oct. 19 school board meeting.

District officials estimate the change will affect 180 students per year at most—in areas where families have frequently asked for such changes to be made, Puma said.

By moving all District 26 students to Cary-Grove, it will allow the district to keep a single community together and let the elementary district teachers work directly with one high school, he added.

If the changes are approved, it will mark the first shift in district boundaries since 1997, when Prairie Ridge High School first opened.

The process for considering the change began in August during the annual review of enrollment at each district school, Puma said.

"They were looking at trends, and it seemed like this would be a good time to make the shift," he said.

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