U-46 updates attendance-boundary mapping, middle-school construction and extends elementary day by 20 minutes

School District U-46’s Board of Education received a facility-planning update Jan. 27, 2025, outlining progress on three middle-school construction projects, ongoing attendance-boundary mapping and a plan to extend elementary school days by 20 minutes beginning in the 2025–26 school year.

The presentation, led by Chief of Staff Brian Lindholm and Deputy Superintendent of Operations Dr. Anne Williams, covered work on a new Bartlett middle school, additions at Kenyon Woods and Kimball middle schools and initial steps for a new Elgin middle school site. Lindholm said the district has held four of five “Mapping Our Future” community sessions after presenting preliminary boundary recommendations to the board on Dec. 9, 2024, and that an interactive online map and an address lookup tool will be posted to the district website. He said feedback so far has focused on maintaining feeder patterns, transportation, sibling preferences and grandfathering options; a final boundary proposal will return to the board later this spring.

Dr. Williams reported that the Bartlett middle-school renovation is advancing: classrooms and hallways are receiving ceiling grids and flooring; restrooms are being finished with epoxy floors; administrative areas are getting new cabinets and lighting; the building is operating on permanent power and new boilers are providing heat; and the gymnasium includes solar tubes to bring natural light into the space. She described Kimball as an older building requiring extensive renovations while Kenyon Woods will see an addition with minimal renovation of the existing structure. She said the Fox River Water Reclamation District approved annexation for the Elgin site and the Elgin City Council discussed the project, and that several Kenyon Woods bid packages would be considered on the consent agenda that evening.

Lindholm also reviewed a district-level facilities goal recommended by the Unite U-46 process: an additional $10 million per year for maintenance needs such as roof replacement, parking lot paving, HVAC updates, playground equipment and targeted modernizations (science labs, secure entryways and updated security systems). He said a set of district standards and an estimated multi‑year budget and timeline would be presented to the board later this spring and that implementation likely will span five to 10 years.

Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Lola Mysdorovich presented the change to elementary start and end times. As part of a collective bargaining agreement ratified in February 2024 with the Elgin Teachers Association, the elementary day will increase from six hours to six hours and 20 minutes beginning August 2025. Mysdorovich said the change will add 100 instructional minutes per week (about 60 hours per calendar year) and allow more access to specials including art, music, physical education, science, health and digital literacy. To implement the change the district will shift elementary start and end times: schools that currently begin at 8 a.m. will start at 7:50 a.m. and end at 2:10 p.m.; schools that currently begin at 8:30 a.m. will begin at 8:20 a.m. and end at 2:40 p.m. The district outlined a four‑phase communications plan that includes announcements, reminders and a follow-up survey after implementation.

Why it matters: boundary adjustments and construction affect where students attend and how they are transported; the maintenance funds and district standards affect facility safety and program quality; and the extra instructional time changes daily schedules for families, bus routes and staff. Lindholm and Dr. Williams said the district will continue community engagement and return to the board with a formal boundary proposal and implementation details for facility standards.