CUSD 300 staff propose moving parts of Hampshire attendance area to Jacobs to ease overcrowding; Gilberts residents urge exceptions

CUSD 300 staff presented a proposal Oct. 14 to shift portions of the Hampshire High School attendance boundary to Jacobs High School to relieve growing capacity pressures. Staff said demographers project roughly 4,166 additional students over the next 10 years, driven by 27 known or projected housing developments concentrated on the district’s west side, and reported current enrollment of 20,091 as of Sept. 30 (Cambridge Lake enrollment of 801 noted separately).

The boundary discussion focused on an initial plan presented Sept. 9 that would have extended the proposed line from Route 72 down to I‑90, and an updated alternative that preserves the Gilberts feeder cohort (Gilberts Elementary → Dundee Middle → Hampshire High) where feasible. Staff said…