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DeKalb board says yes to collaboration with Sycamore only if ELDC stays on DeKalb property
Summary
After touring Sycamore’s former NICOOR office, DeKalb CUSD 428 trustees expressed concerns about cost, safety and transportation and directed staff to offer collaboration only if DeKalb hosts the Early Learning Development Center on district property.
The DeKalb CUSD 428 Board of Education expressed conditional interest in a joint Early Learning Development Center (ELDC) with Sycamore but directed staff to pursue collaboration that would locate the program on DeKalb property.
Board members discussed the proposal after a site visit to Sycamore’s new education center on Bethany Road, a building described in the meeting as a former NICOOR office. Dr. Garcia Sanchez, speaking for the district leadership team, said the Sycamore board president had suggested a cooperative agreement to move DeKalb’s ELDC into Sycamore’s offices, build out classrooms there and transport DeKalb students to Sycamore.
The board raised three consistent concerns: construction and remodel costs, recurring transportation costs to move students out of district, and student safety because Sycamore’s administration offices would sit across central walkways from potential ELDC classrooms. “There would be two different spaces where children would have to cross where other adults coming from the outside into the building would also cross,” Dr. Garcia Sanchez said, citing safety concerns.
Tammy Carson, the district’s director of facility and safety operations, said architects are reviewing whether Sycamore’s site has enough on-site space for the district’s required classrooms and sufficient playground, parking and separate bus drop-off areas. Carson said the Sycamore building’s multi-level, 1970s-era design and interior stairs create circulation challenges and that the district must verify whether outdoor recreational space would require students to cross a parking lot.
Carson and Dr. Garcia Sanchez also noted schedule and funding concerns. Sycamore’s leadership told DeKalb officials that, given current fund balances and tax revenue, Sycamore would not have capacity to take on a major renovation for about five years. “I don't know that that necessarily meets the time frame that we would be looking to launch the ELDC for our students,” Dr. Garcia Sanchez said.
Board members urged alternatives, including building out DeKalb’s own space and inviting Sycamore to co-locate within DeKalb facilities. One board member summarized the group’s direction: the board is open to collaboration but prefers that the district host the ELDC. “I am hearing it sounds like we have consensus from the board that we'd like to let Sycamore know that we're open to collaboration, but we would like it to be done under our facilities and within our district,” the board president said.
As a next step, staff — led by Carson and Dr. Garcia Sanchez — will draft a response for the board to send to Sycamore, run the draft by the district communications manager and circulate it to trustees for feedback and final sign-off.
Discussion-only items and unresolved details remain. The district said architects are producing preliminary square-footage and site plans and that staff will return with high-level cost estimates by July. The board did not approve a contract or take a formal vote to move ELDC to Sycamore; trustees instead provided direction to staff to pursue a collaborative option that keeps the ELDC located on DeKalb property.
