Feasibility Study Outlines Five Paths Forward for 207U

By Andrea Arens

Discussions around consolidation had been culminating for months and it was expected.

What most weren’t expecting was to consolidate from a 5 building district to a two.

The open house for the feasibility study presentation completed by Wight & Co. included multiple scenarios for consolidation, but all did not include Conor Shaw Center or Peotone Intermediate Center.

The study itself explored long term options for 207U with a focus on consolidation, renovations, or new construction. All the options were exploratory only and no decisions were being made at the moment.

Architects Wight & Co., known for their design of the Will County Courthouse along with other educational spaces, started with a steering committee of community members that participated in two meetings that provided feedback regarding the buildings in the district.

The study focused mostly on the elementary school and the junior high because those two buildings would be the most affected by consolidation.

Both current and projected 5 year enrollment was analyzed but only the higher number of the 2 was used for the purpose of the study. Typically this is utilized when enrollment is projected to be stagnant or decline. Capacity was measured using square feet per student accounting for everything including classrooms, special education services, staff space, cafeterias, parking, and support services. Benchmarks were 130 sq ft per student for PES and 180 sq ft for PJHS; the elementary school was considered near capacity but the junior high was considered to have potential space flexibility.

Both Peotone Elementary and Peotone Junior High were evaluated for potential areas of opportunity with multiple options presented from additions to reorganization.

Representatives from Wight & Co. started by addressing the conditions of each building in the district. To no surprise, the high school was in the best shape but all buildings required significant maintenance and significant dollars to complete that maintenance. Wight’s total estimated cost for maintenance for all 5 buildings over the next 10 years: a whopping $28 million.

Wight continued that schools were evaluated on four key ingredients of a facility plan: space organization and efficiency, learning environment, site & access, and safety& security.

After being shown a video envisioning dream educational spaces that included open areas, large amounts of natural light, enormous campuses with colorful backdrops and amenities galore; about 37 participants including board members were asked to rank the considerations that meant the most to them. Of the four presented: learning environment ranked first, financial stewardship second, operational efficiency third,and community impact fourth.

Five total scenarios were presented; two with consolidation that still included additions and renovations, and three that created new buildings, with one option creating only one Pre-K-8 building built east of the junior high, another option was a new Pre-K-5 building, and a third option was new intermediate 3-8 building along with pros and cons of each.

The emphasis for the planning of the learning spaces was focused on personalized learning environments, flexible spaces, wellness integration, and collaboration and community building.

Through all four lenses of learning environment, financial stewardship, operational efficiency and community impact, each of the options were surveyed.

Scenario A which included an addition to Peotone Elementary to house Pre-K-5 at the elementary school, the junior high as is with grades 6-8, and the high school unchanged but with infrastructure improvements.

Superintendent Brandon Owens said the full presentation will be available on the district website and a full comprehensive report will be presented at a future board of education meeting.

Five options were presented on January 26-photo by Andrea Arens.