A citizens advisory committee has narrowly recommended approval of the new boundary plans proposed for seven middle schools in the Elgin-based U-46 School District.
The Citizens Advisory Council’s Executive Committee voted 7-6 Thursday night to recommend the boundary plans to its general committee, which will vote in May on whether to recommend the plan to the board of education.
Members who voted against the drafts objected to boundary changes that called for small groups of pupils to attend a middle school different from the school that most of their fellow elementary pupils would attend. For example, about 15 Oakhill Elementary pupils who live south of Illinois Highway 19 in Streamwood would attend Tefft Middle School instead of Canton Middle School, which most of their fellow pupils would attend.
According to the boundary plan for the new middle school, at 1699 Raymond St. in South Elgin, the campus would get pupils from Clinton, Fox Meadow and Willard Elementary Schools in South Elgin, along with pupils from Garfield Elementary in Elgin and Nature Ridge Elementary in Bartlett.
Pupils who attend Wayne Elementary and live west of Illinois Highway 59 and pupils who attend Huff Elementary and live south of U.S. Highway 20 also would attend the school. The new middle school will open in the fall of 2004 with about 695 students.
Also at the Thursday meeting, the council’s Enrollment and Facilities Committee outlined its five-year enrollment projections for the district. By analyzing various factors, the committee said enrollment at all of the district’s elementary, middle and high schools will continue to increase.
From the 1997-98 school year to the 2001-02 school year, the district population has increased by an average of 1,371 students a year.
The district has 39,441 students. During the 2002-03 school year, the committee expects enrollment to reach 40,601. By 2006-07, the district could have 43,034 students enrolled.
