The DeKalb CUSD 428 Board of Education voted to commit property-tax revenue and set aside $26,200,000 in fund balance to support construction of a new 24-classroom Early Learning Development Center (ELDC), according to a roll-call vote during the Nov. 4 regular meeting.

Amir Doka, the district’s director of business and finance, told the board that once approved those funds would be committed so they would not mix with operational funds and could be invested or held until construction disbursements required liquidity. “We just need to ensure to the public that these funds are not gonna be touched, that they're gonna be dedicated exclusively to ELDC,” a board member summarized during the discussion.

The vote followed public comment from teachers and residents. Denise Osterlin, a fourth-grade teacher at Founders Elementary School, said she supported building a dedicated ELDC but urged that Founders’ community of more than 500 students and 100 staff be included in planning and decision-making. “I respectfully ask that you consider this proposal… involve our entire community, teachers, parents, staff, administration in the decision making process,” Osterlin said. Opponents at public comment criticized the process as rushed and insufficiently transparent. Resident Keith Cameron said the district had “not at all approached the community about it,” and called the combined proposal “non-transparent.”

Board members asked for clarifications before and after the vote. Tammy Carson, director of facilities and safety operations, said the administration will return with more precise cost estimates and a timeline once the architect completes updated work for a 24-classroom design; the board was told more accurate budget numbers and schedule are planned for the December meeting. Doka and Carson explained that adding classrooms increases support space and other associated costs, and that a full 24-classroom quote was still pending.

A second point of debate centered on whether ELDC construction was coupled with a broader school reconfiguration plan described in the district’s “Vision 04/28” materials. Several board members and members of the public asked whether approval of ELDC funding would commit the district to subsequent grade-center reconfiguration. Administration said funding for ELDC can be committed separately in the near term while planning for reconfiguration remains a longer-term, contingent effort. To increase transparency and allow fuller public engagement, the board reached consensus to split the ELDC funding/resolution and the grade-center reconfiguration into two separate agenda items and asked administration to return to the next meeting with the amended items.

The board also asked administration to explicitly show where construction funds would be invested while awaiting disbursement and to provide a clear plan for how ELDC construction would affect middle-school space needs (HMS/Huntley) once the ELDC vacates current spaces.

Administration said decoupling the two items would not prevent construction of the ELDC; Carrie Carson (facilities) and business staff said the only immediate renovation work tied to ELDC vacating Huntley would be targeted renovations (for example, converting small bathrooms and cramped spaces into offices or older-student restrooms). Long-range reconfiguration planning would remain a separate planning and design process that could be presented to the board for later action.

The board’s resolution to commit funds for the ELDC carried on a roll-call vote as recorded in the meeting minutes; an amendment to the agenda was not required because the board agreed the two items should be returned as separate action documents at the next meeting.

Members of the public and several board members urged the administration to ensure broad stakeholder engagement during the next planning phase. Administration said architects and construction managers could not be engaged to advance design without board permission because those engagements may carry fees; the split agenda items are intended to authorize that next phase of planning while preserving a separate, near-term commitment to the ELDC funding itself.

What happens next: administration will return with an amended action item that separates the ELDC funding commitment from the grade-center reconfiguration proposal, updated budget numbers for a 24-classroom design, and a proposed timeline and investment approach for the committed funds.