Two Schools To Close Under $83 Million Reconfiguration Proposal

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Sherwood and Braeside elementary schools would be closed in conjunction with $83 million in improvements as part of a seven-year plan to reduce North Shore School District 112 to seven schools. The proposal was presented Wednesday at the second meeting of a committee convened by first-year Superintendent Mike Lubelfeld to develop a recommendation for the future configuration of the district to its board this fall.

The seven-school configuration would be implemented in the 2025-26 school year, in the final year of a plan intended to improve the quality of education for students and a return on investment for the community, Lubelfeld said at the Sept. 12 meeting of his Long Range Planning Committee. The ad hoc group is made up of various stakeholders in the district. It will meet again Sept. 24 and Oct. 4 before a planned presentation before the school board Oct. 23.

Lubelfeld presented data showing District 112 schools had some of the lowest assessment scores of schools among affluent northern suburbs and were "near the bottom in value." He said he would not stand for it, pointing out Deerfield District 109 had the second-highest achievement and best value according to the data presented. Lubelfeld, a former principal of Elm Place Middle School, joined District 112 from District 109 earlier this summer. Convening the planning committee was among his first actions after taking over as the "chief learning officer" of the district.

Elements of the draft recommendation of the Long-Range Planning Committee:

• Renovations and upgrades at Edgewood Middle School and Northwood Junior High starting in 2019-20 to be completed by the end of the third year of the plan, 2021-22.
• Sherwood students living north of Berkeley road would start attending Wayne Thomas starting with the 2019-20 kindergarten class.
• All children of military families based at Fort Sheridan would attend Wayne Thomas, other than those in the dual language program starting with the 2019-20 kindergarten class.
• Implement major upgrades to Red Oaks and Ravinia elementary schools ahead of their merger with closing schools.
• The district would issue $50 million worth of bonds that would not require a referendum and put $33 million from reserves toward improving aging facilities.
• Sherwood would be combined with a renovated Red Oak Elementary, to become the neighborhood school for the southwest portion of town, starting in the 2025-26 school year. Likewise on the southeast part of town, Braeside would close with and Ravinia Elementary would be renovated.

"Braeside and Ravinia are both amazing schools. They're great. We don't have enough people living in the Braeside and Ravinia attendance areas to keep them both open and address the needs we have throughout the rest of the district," Lubelfeld said.

Architects hired by the earlier this year estimated it would cost more than $100 million to conduct the repairs needed over the next 15 years, were the district to keep all nine schools open, Pioneer Press reported. The District 112 board could vote on the recommendations as early as its Nov. 27 meeting.

Read accompanying slides from Sept. 12 meeting »
Read key findings from telephone survey of district residents »
Read frequently asked questions with links to video »

Related:

• District 112 Exploring Selling Unused Assets, Combining Schools
• NSSD-112 Hires New Architecture Firm
• New NSSD112 Superintendent Meets Community, Seeks Feedback
• Mike Lubelfeld Hired As New NSSD112 Superintendent