Superintendent Gill asked the board to consider a plan to lease roughly 29 acres of land owned by the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) to site a consolidated South Side elementary school operated by Springfield SD 186. Gill said UIS would not sell the property but is willing to consider a long-term lease — “probably somewhere around 100 years,” he said — with final terms to be negotiated.

Gill told the board the leased school would remain tax-exempt under UIS ownership and described the arrangement as effectively a "0 property tax revenue loss" because the land is currently tax-exempt while owned by the university. "This is not a lab school," Gill said, emphasizing the district would operate the school under the same attendance boundaries as the three elementary schools targeted for consolidation.

Why it matters: District leaders said the site is adjacent to Franklin Park and Barker Park and could address critical facility needs on the South Side, enable stronger partnerships with UIS — including additional student-teaching opportunities — and potentially spur modest neighborhood development. Gill said the district would use county sales tax revenues authorized by voters for construction funding if the project moves forward.

What board members asked and heard: Board members pressed on alternatives considered (Laketown, Hazeldell/Hazeldell site constraints, sewer infrastructure and water-reclamation issues), the voluntary nature of a detachment from Chatham School District, and the process if Chatham agrees. Miller, who attended the Chatham meeting with Gill and Chancellor Janet Gooch, told the board that Chatham raised substantive questions and that the districts are currently "wait and see" pending further conversation.

Next steps and process: Gill said that if a voluntary detachment is approved at the Chatham level, the next step would be an uncontested petition for annexation/detachment filed with the regional superintendent of schools (named in the meeting as Shannon Furholtz). No formal board action or vote on the lease or detachment occurred at the Dec. 1 meeting; the item was presented for discussion and initial feedback.

Context and constraints: The superintendent noted UIS would retain ownership and that lease terms and final site engineering remain to be negotiated. Board members stressed transparency with affected neighborhoods and the need to clarify infrastructure costs and any required intergovernmental agreements before a binding commitment.

What was not decided: The board did not approve any binding lease or financial commitment at the meeting, and Chatham had not yet granted detachment; both remain outstanding prerequisites to the project.