SD U-46 presents proposed attendance-boundary map to rebalance enrollment, close aging buildings

School District U-46 staff presented a proposed districtwide attendance-boundary map that would reassign students across elementary, middle and high schools to address aging school buildings, uneven enrollment and the results of a 2023 bond referendum that funded renovations and new construction. The proposal affects all 55 district buildings and the district’s nearly 35,000 students, staff said.

District staff described the background driving the plan: some school buildings are more than 100 years old and maintenance costs have grown, while other schools face over-enrollment. Staff said the bond referendum passed in 2023 provides funding to renovate older schools and build new facilities; the boundary changes are intended to direct students into renovated or new buildings and to better align capacity with enrollment trends.

The presentation included a color-coded map and scenario modeling that staff said used birth-rate data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, local housing-construction information and student-address point data. A district staff member described using an external software tool to predict future enrollment and produce map scenarios the community reviewed.

Staff outlined specific reassignments included in the draft map. The district would close the elementary school identified in the presentation as Hannover Countryside and reassign its students among nearby schools, with portions proposed to go to Bartlet, Oak Hill and Glenbrook. Two middle schools identified in the presentation, Abbott and Ellis, are proposed for closure; the plan calls for opening a new middle school at the Partlet site (the presentation described this as the former Hawk Hollow location) and establishing a new middle school on Roarson Street that would serve large portions of Ellis and parts of Larsen. The draft also proposes one change to high school assignments: students in a portion of the Wayne elementary attendance area currently assigned to South Ald Algen High School would instead feed to Bartland High School to align feeder patterns.

The proposal would introduce a dual-language program at Canyon Woods so students who participate in dual-language instruction could remain at a single school rather than changing schools to access the program. Staff said the district developed planning criteria with parents, staff and community members last year and that the draft scenarios aim to reflect community priorities such as travel distance and time, keeping siblings together, keeping neighborhoods intact and minimizing the chance a student’s attendance boundary changes in consecutive years.

A parent who spoke during the presentation described a recent family transition — moving from Hawk Hollow to Spring Trail — and said the district’s supports helped their children adapt quickly. District staff said the transition experience is informing how the district plans supports for families who will change schools under the new boundaries, including staff supports and family resources.

Staff emphasized that community engagement guided the criteria and scenarios, and that the district will continue communication as maps are refined. The presentation did not specify exact adoption or implementation dates, nor the schedule for final public hearings or board action.

The district presentation repeatedly framed the changes as necessary to provide “modern, safe and adaptable” learning environments and to equalize access to programs and extracurriculars districtwide. Several neighborhood-level boundary shifts were described in detail during the map tour; staff said nearly every school’s attendance area has at least some change under the draft plan.

Next steps were described only in general terms: staff will continue to refine scenarios with community input and return with additional information. Specific timelines, final adoption dates and detailed transportation impacts were not specified in the presentation.