CARE Opposes District 112 Referendum

HIGHLAND PARK, IL - The Citizens Against the 112 Referendum group in Highland Park that has long been opposed North Shore School District 112’s reconfiguration plans including one middle school campus has officially denounced this week’s vote to place the initiative on the ballot for voters in March.

The plan - which will close six schools, renovate others and house all district fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders at one campus on the southwest edge of town - is “ill-conceived and financially irresponsible,” according to a group statement circulated by Davis Schneiderman.

“CARE is not against reconfiguration, and we are not against change. We oppose this plan for educational, financial, and procedural reasons...The plan will not solve D112’s financial problems, and the $198 million-dollar price tag — four times the size of Highland Park’s share of the D113’s referendum — forces D112’s voters to choose between an all-or-nothing strategy.”

According to CARE, the real cost of the plan will be “well above $198 million.”

“ Just as this number fails to take into account millions in interest payments and maintenance obligations during the life of the bond, so it also fails to account for the social costs we will pay well beyond 30 years.”

The planned middle school campus at the current site of Sherwood and Red Oak schools will be a “big box” school serving more than 1,800 students and will be located far away from a number of district families.

“We don’t want our children to be test subjects for an unproven configuration that is contrary to the community’s recommendations.”

The statement blasted the district’s public relations campaign hired to promote the initiative, which will be on the ballot March 15.

The taxpayer-funded $12,000 per month campaign uses “one-sided rhetoric to paint anyone who raises questions as a nostalgic naysayer out for his or her own local interests.”

See CARE’s full statement here