Several teachers, a retired administrator and a middle-school principal used public comment time to press the DeKalb CUSD 428 Board of Education to move quickly on a new Early Learning and Development Center (ELDC) and to address middle-school overcrowding.

Katie Davis, a teacher at the ELDC, asked the board to “demonstrate that they understand the importance of early childhood education” and to support advocacy for a new center. Adrienne Fell, another ELDC teacher, told the board the building lacks a gym, a library and “only 4 toilets for 140 students,” and said those facility gaps send the wrong message to families about the value of early education. "This isn't just about missing resources, it's about what our students and families are being told every day that they matter less," Fell said.

Lisa Gorschels, a retired special education teacher who led ELDC as an administrator, described benefits from consolidating early learners under one roof and called for a purpose-built facility designed for 3- to 5-year-old learners.

Clinton Rosette Middle School principal Brent Weierpau told the board that moving ELDC into a new building would free about 10 classrooms at Huntley Middle School (HMS) for middle-school use, an outcome he said would meaningfully reduce overcrowding and lower class-size caps that currently average 33–35 students in his building.

Board members discussed options for funding a new ELDC. A board member summarized two approaches: a referendum (binding historically for school buildings) or a no-referendum route using state provisions. The board member said Illinois passed a law in 2024 that exempts added K or pre-K classroom space from a referendum requirement, but that legal counsel had not yet tested whether a referendum would be binding in that situation and that no district had yet attempted the process. The same board member said, "I fully intend to push for us to make a decision on ELDC within this next year because I think it is an immediate need that our district has."

Why it matters: ELDC’s facility limitations and middle-school overcrowding affect young children's daily experience and district capacity planning. The board's funding route decision will determine whether the community votes on a bond/referral and how quickly construction could proceed.

What the board directed: Board leadership signaled intent to prioritize a decision on ELDC within the coming year and asked staff to include transportation and district-vehicle cost information in future requests for transparency.