Special Ed. District Could Rent Space at New Lenox Kindergarten

As New Lenox School District 122 officials look to slash the district's $3.2 million budget deficit, some help could come from renting space to another area school district.

The District 122 Board of Education met earlier this week to hear options for trimming the budget and finding new revenue, and one deal that was received well was renting space in to the Lincoln-Way Area Special Education District 843.

"I thought this was one of our most creative solution," District 122 Superintendent Mike Sass said, referencing the number of budget proposals presented Monday.

District 843 would pay about $108,000 to rent a few classrooms in Cherry Hill, and could pay up to $60,000 for personnel billing. That would be for certain services already offered at Cherry Hill that District 843 students would then use, such as the school nurse and secretary.

The Special Education District is a cooperative that provides support to six area school districts: Frankfort, Lincoln-Way High Schools, Manhattan, Mokena, New Lenox, Summit Hill.

The space will be rented for three to five classrooms for preschool students, and it will also be used for the Special Education District's early childhood programs and preschool clinics.

At a meeting among district superintendents, District 843 Superintendent Sally Bintz brought up space issues and a rental agreement was discussed. District 843 is hoping to expand services and programming at its Pioneer Grove location in Frankfort an would add more students who are currently placed in private day schools. But to add those students, others would need a new space.

"We're developing programs so that some of those students who have to ride in buses 30 to 50 minutes can stay closer to home," Bintz said. "And we're working collaboratively in finding the best placement for all our students."

Some parents, who refused to give their names, have complained that Cherry Hill continued to operate under capacity, saying the district could save money by closing the school, which is one of two public kindergartens in New Lenox. At the meeting, district officials didn't have total numbers of students enrolled at Cherry Hill.

Both districts' superintendents believe it will help their schools. For District 122, new revenue comes into the budget, and for District 843, more students can utilize their programs and services. And despite paying rent and possibly personnel bills, Bintz said tuition from the increased number of students should help balance that out.

Bintz said District 843 is still working to determine how it would help staff the classrooms and programs at Cherry Hill, and was hesitant to say it would pay the $60,000 for personnel services that District 122 estimated. But she was confident the district's governing board would approve the deal, which would happen after District 122 votes on it at its meeting Tuesday.

"It's a very positive partnership," Bintz said. "It’s good when we can share resources. It makes sense financially, and I'm grateful for the opportunnity to have more of a presence in New Lenox."

On top of the nearly $170,000 this agreement could bring, District 122 hopes add another $60,000 by collecting tuition refunds from District 843 when there's an overage, and also adding a surcharge for students who use the district's programs who come from outside its boundaries.

"And there's additional savings with this we're not even talking about," District 122 Board President Kathy Markus said.

The District 122 board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the and will discuss this deal, among other budget issues.