School Board Votes to Keep St. Charles Schools Open ... for Now

ST. CHARLES, IL - Schools within St. Charles District 303 will remain open, for now, after the school board voted Monday night against any immediate closures and in favor of looking at a possible tax increase referendum that could appear on the ballot this November, according to the Daily Herald.

The vote Monday to keep things as is came after months of intense discussions. The school board has now instructed administrators to draft a plan, or plans, for increasing the capacity of Thompson Middle School and bringing the building up to “contemporary standards,” according to an update posted on the District 303 website. Administration will be tasked with deciding whether to add onto Thompson or build a new middle school.

To make that happen, a tax increase is needed and could be as high as $60 million, the Daily Herald reports. It also could make way for the eventual, and gradual, closing of Haines Middle School.

The school board on Monday decided against the immediate closures of Lincoln, Wasco or Haines schools -- options that were all on the table to deal with the possibility of getting less in state funding, a property tax freeze and the costs of shifting teacher pensions from the state to the district, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

If a tax increase referendum fails, the school board may again need to decide on school closures, the Daily Herald reports.

“If they want us to leave the middle schools the way they are, let the public tell us that,” Board member Jim Gaffney said. “If you’re comfortable leaving your kids in a school that’s substandard, OK.”

Read more on the Daily Herald and the Kane County Chronicle.

Read More on Patch

• District 303 to Vote Next Week on Whether to Close St. Charles Schools
• Survey Shows Majority of District 303 Residents in Favor of Closing Wasco, Lincoln Schools
• St. Charles District 303 Explores Closing Schools to Deal With Shrinking Enrollment, Budget Cuts
• District 303 Considers Closing Schools, Expanding Thompson Middle School