Developers of the proposed 667-acre Prairie Crossing residential and commercial project say they want all the children from the development to attend elementary school in one district.
Most of the property, at the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 45 and Illinois Highway 120, is in Woodland School District 50, which primarily serves Gurnee. But 120 of the proposed 317 houses are in Freemont District 79, which mainly serves pupils from Mundelein and Hawthorn Woods.
”The No. 1 issue is whether we can make this more of a community by having it all in one school district,” said George Ranney Jr., half of the husband-and-wife team proposing the development.
”Kids get to know each other if they all go to one school, and parents get to know each other also,” added Ranney`s wife, Victoria Post Ranney.
The Ranneys proposed changing district borders at a meeting with the Woodland school board Monday. Woodland officials said they were open to the idea and eager to begin discussions about impact fees and developer donations. Gary Mical, superintendent of Freemont School District 79, said the district is willing to talk about changing the boundaries and have met with the Ranneys. No meetings have been set to discuss the matter with Woodland officials, he added.
