D113A Will Have Derby Road Property Appraised

Lemont-Bromberek District 113A Board of Education members Wednesday voted to find out the value of a plot of vacant farm land.

The district will pay $3,290 to have the property on Derby Road appraised. Board members Brian Bushnell and Dave Molitor voted against the appraisal.

The future of the oft-debated piece of land has been uncertain, with the board weighing whether it should sell it. The move to have it appraised indicates an interest in selling the property, which the district purchased in 1989 as land for a prospective school.

An enrollment decrease and the closing of Central School in 2011 have led the board to reconsider its retention of the property. Those in favor of selling it contend that there is no use for it in the foreseeable future, and that instead the district would reopen Cental School or expand an existing one if enrollment necessitates it.

Board member Brian Bushnell has previously called the land a cost risk, noting $96,000 in unpaid property taxes. The board has since secured tax exempt status for the land, meaning it costs the district very little to keep—$100 in upkeep each year. The district would benefit from the sale, but if it decides to buy land in the future, would pay more for that land, than the Derby Road property had cost, said board member Dave Molitor.

Board President Cindy Kelley said the appraisal will help the board in future decisions by determining the land’s worth.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board approved a tentative budget of $27.873 million in expenditures and $28.86 million in revenue.

A public hearing is scheduled for the Sept. 16 meeting, preceding the board’s final vote.