Attendance Zone Change Moves 280 Plainfield Students

PLAINFIELD, IL — The District 202 Board of Education on Monday voted to approve new attendance zone boundaries that will move 280 elementary school students starting next fall. The proposal, announced in December, means changes for students in eight of the district's 17 elementary schools. Board members Rod Westfall, Heather Drake and Michael Robey voted against the proposal "due to concerns about a handful of specific elements," the district said in a news release.

District administrators said the new boundaries address "logistic, transportation, staffing and enrollment issues created by shifting enrollment and housing patterns following the Great Recession."

The plan as approved

• Takes effect in fall 2018
• Does not affect middle and high school assigments
• Affects students at these campuses: Meadow View, Wesmere, Walker’s Grove, Grand Prairie, River view, Crystal Lawns, Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson
• Creates elementary enrollments of between 531 and 692 students at 14 of the 17 elementary schools. (Crystal Lawns, Grand Prairie and Walker's Grove are all smaller schools with lower enrollments)

A press release from the district notes that the new plan "makes geographic sense" and "yields optimal space for special education, English Language Learners and Honors programs."

Between 1990 and 2008, District 202 grew from a small district with five schools and about 3,500 students to the fourth-largest district in Illinois with 30 schools serving nearly 30,000 students. That growth stopped with the Great Recession in 2008, and since then, enrollment has dropped to about 27,100 students.

"Those changes left some schools well under their capacities, leading to staffing, transportation and logistical challenges," the district said.

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