Board hears plan to expand Early Learning & Development Center, staff ask for $3.75 million and more square footage

Designers for DeKalb CUSD 428 told the school board that a revised schematic for the district's Early Learning & Development Center (ELDC) requires added footprint and money to meet early-childhood program needs.

At a board meeting April 1, Kyle, the ELDC schematic presenter, said the district's updated plan would increase the project budget to $41.78 million, an adjustment of roughly $3.75 million, and expand the building to about 60,000 square feet to add three indoor gross-motor spaces, two dedicated sensory rooms and Jack-and-Jill restrooms paired between classrooms. "We're trying to design an early childhood center, not an elementary school," Kyle said, explaining that smaller, specialized gross-motor areas reduce safety risks and let younger children use bikes, climbers and other equipment required by the program.

Why it matters: Staff said the changes reflect what architects and program leads learned during site visits and grant requirements for Preschool For All (PFA). The new gross-motor configuration would use three roughly 1,700-square-foot spaces so that groups of about 40 children operate safely rather than crowding a single large gym. Presenters said two sensory rooms are needed to provide a staffed calming space separate from OT/PT therapy areas.

Funding and timing: Staff described a funding approach that relies on district fund balance and e-zone (Meta) tax receipts the district has been tracking; they said the district currently monitors about $26 million in e-zone receipts and expects roughly $17 million more by November 2026. Presenters agreed to provide more precise fund-balance projections when the item returns to the board. Board members asked whether the proposed change affects the previously approved classroom count; designers said the revised footprint and programmatic rooms alter how the district should count "classrooms" (a 20-room configuration yields larger classrooms than 24 smaller rooms) and that a resolution amendment may be needed.

Questions and next steps: Trustees pressed staff for details on long-term operating costs, enrollment projections, and how additional staff and meals (the team suggested a service kitchen for delivered food) would be funded if the district pursues full-day expansion. Staff said the ELDC is projected to roughly double current early-childhood enrollment to about 600'650 students and that a Preschool For All expansion grant could support full-day options.

Board action: The board gave consensus to bring the ELDC schematic and funding adjustment back for formal consideration after staff supplies more-detailed fiscal projections. The presenters repeatedly asked for the additional square footage on the basis of instructional design and child safety.

What remains unclear: The schematic documents used slightly different square-footage figures (60,055 vs. 59,055 in discussion); staff committed to provide reconciled numbers and a clear fund-balance impact before any approval. The board also signaled that the previously authorized room-count language may need amendment if those nontraditional instructional spaces are counted as classrooms.