Glen Ellyn District 41 Aims To Hold Off COD Civic Center Vote

GLEN ELLYN, IL — The Village of Glen Ellyn is poised to make a decision Monday about whether College of DuPage can fill the Civic Center's vacant police station space with the Innovation DuPage business incubator. School District 41 hopes to delay that long-awaited vote so its own proposal can be considered.

Glen Ellyn School District 41 has been in informal talks about using the space for months and recently submitted a formal proposal at the village's request. The proposal, penned by District Superintendent Paul Gordon, recommends moving the district's early childhood education and preschool program to the north wing of the Park District's Spring Avenue Recreation Center. The Park District, then, would move its north wing offices into the vacant Civic Center space.

The proposal requests that the village postpone its deal with College of DuPage "while negotiations with the School District and Park District proceed until it becomes apparent that an agreement cannot be reached, but, in any event, by no later than the end of January, 2018."

The school district preliminarily estimates its cost to be between $1.5 and $2 million to facilitate the park district's proposed move to the Civic Center, along with potential renovations to their new space.

District 41's early childhood and preschool education program currently serves about 150 students and anticipates increased enrollment in coming years. In his letter to the village, Gordon noted that this includes students who are "at-risk, English Language/Bilingual, and special education."

Village officials will discuss the plan's for the Civic Center Monday evening and may vote on the College of DuPage deal if they decide to pass on District 41's offer.

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