Pleasantdale School Eyes Expansion: Official
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WILLOW SPRINGS, IL – Pleasantdale School District 107 is looking to expand its elementary school, so it is interested in getting a part of Lyons Township High School’s neighboring land in Willow Springs, an official said Monday.
The information was revealed Monday at a meeting of the high school board.
Board President Jill Grech spoke about a meeting last week with Pleasantdale officials about the high school’s 70 acres of wooded land next to Pleasantdale Elementary.
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Pleasantdale Elementary is at capacity, with storage space converted into offices and fifth-graders being moved to the middle school, Grech said.
She said District 107 wants six acres of the high school’s land “to build a new facility, accommodate a parking lot, expand traffic patterns and ensure enough green and playground space.”
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“As of right now, they feel six acres is sufficient to accommodate those needs,” she said. “They noted those six acres could be purchased, donated or a combination of both if or when we get to that point.”
Board member Michael Thomas said he was “struggling to understand how it’s being asked of us to donate land.”
Grech said it would require more conversation if the board pursued such a path.
Patch left a message Tuesday morning with District 107 Superintendent Dave Palzet.
The high school board is trying to improve relations with District 107, the village of Willow Springs and Pleasant Dale Park District.
In 2022 and early 2023, the high school board purposely kept the other government bodies and residents out of the loop as the board tried to sell the property to an industrial developer.
Behind closed doors, the board’s then-lawyer told members a developer would have a good shot of overturning the village’s prohibition of industrial uses on the property.
Once the plan became known in January 2023, residents objected to industrial development next to houses and a school. The board abandoned the effort after a couple of months of uproar.
Since then, the board has moved away from the previous secrecy. And the board has given up attracting industrial development, which would likely result in a higher price than residential.
About the meeting with Pleasantdale, Grech said, “The assumption for the conversation was that any development would be within or at least very close to the current zoning.”
She said District 107 was expecting enrollment growth.
“They noted they have a large number of older homeowners in the district, so expect significant turnover on the horizon,” Grech said.
She said District 107 wanted the high school to collaborate and communicate about its plans for the Willow Springs land. It also asked to review any terms and conditions of the high school’s request for bids for the property, she said.
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