A decision on whether to dissolve Puffer-Hefty Elementary School District 69 was delayed late Tuesday after opponents of dissolution spent two hours testifying before the DuPage County Regional Board of School Trustees.
The board had hoped to decide the matter Tuesday, but because testimony ran longer than expected, another meeting will be held Feb. 15.
Attorney Burton S. Odelson, representing District 69, told trustees that they did not have to dissolve the district, even though in July they had deemed a petition to dissolve the district to be “proper.”
“If they don’t find it in the best interest of the children, they don’t have to dissolve the district or annex it to any other district,” Odelson said.
But attorney Karl R. Ottosen, who represents parents seeking dissolution, maintained the only decision before the board was whether to fold District 69 into Downers Grove Elementary School District 58 or Woodridge Elementary School District 68.
District 69 Supt. Gary T. Zabilka and five witnesses–made up of parents and teachers–told trustees that dissolution would not be in the best interest of pupils, because a small school district can provide a better learning environment.
The recent efforts to dissolve Puffer-Hefty Elementary School District 69 date to 1996, when anti-Puffer parents, calling themselves the Committee of 10, began a drive to dissolve the district. The parents charged that the district is too small to provide quality education and extracurricular activities to students.
Under Illinois statute, a district can be dissolved if more than half the registered voters in a school district of less than 5,000 people sign a petition.
Last summer, the DuPage County Regional Board of Education voted to dissolve Puffer-Hefty but postponed making a decision on which district should absorb Puffer-Hefty.
The school board for Puffer-Hefty immediately began to appeal that decision in DuPage County Circuit Court, a process that continues.
The controversy has divided the little school district, pitting two parent groups against each other.
A second group of pro-Puffer parents, calling themselves Taxpayers for an Independent Puffer, charge that a majority of residents do not want the school district dissolved. They say that nearby districts, such as Downers Grove District 58, are too big to offer personal attention. They also contend that District 58 is facing financial difficulties. In particular, they believe District 69 has a better financial situation that District 58.
Puffer-Hefty has slightly more than 400 students in kindergarten through 8th grade and about 30 teachers and staff. It has a single building, which is on about 11 acres on the western edge of Downers Grove. By comparison, Downers Grove District 58 has more than 5,000 students in 12 schools.
