Dupage Policy Journal

The Glen Ellyn school district is considering the costs of creating a new full-day kindergarten program in the coming years.

At a June 6 special board meeting, representatives from Wight and Company presented some of their variations for site plans, expanding Churchill Elementary School and improving infrastructure to be able to accommodate full-day kindergarten.

"As a sort of guiding decision-making principle, not knowing exactly what you will come back with in terms of how that impacts cost," board President Robert Bruno said at the June 6 special board meeting. " I think staying at the level that’s been recommended and not going below it gets us a transformative program. And it also preserves the financial health of the district. It accounts for a lot of unknowables, and it does enable future growth. It can address pre-K."

This discussion comes as the state passed a bill requiring such programs in all public schools and awaits the governor’s signature, according to a June 3 report on Illinois Policy.

In November 2022, voters in Glen Ellyn School District 41 decided against the $49 million referendum put on the ballot that would allow for an infrastructure and program expansion in the district to create a full-day kindergarten program, Patch reported. The full estimated cost for the project was $67 million, though the district planned to use $18 million in reserves to offset the cost.

The district has since called in Wight and Company, an architectural firm based in Chicago, to help them conduct a feasibility study on the full-day kindergarten program and propose a master plan to best facilitate the addition, both for the district’s needs and taxpayers’ wishes, Patch reported.        

 The Illinois House and Senate have both passed HB 2396, which would require all public schools in the state to have a full-day kindergarten program by 2027, according to Illinois Policy. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has yet to sign the bill.

The bill has many opponents, though not many against the intent of the bill, Illinois Policy reported. Complaints heard from the public, school districts and other legislators focus on the lack of funding support for districts, many of whom would have to shoulder the burden of expanding buildings, staff, curriculum and operating costs entirely on their own to meet the new demands. 

This is expected to raise school taxes in many communities, putting the financial burden on residents, according to Illinois Policy.

Wight reported the price of the Glen Ellyn Elementary School expansion project could range anywhere from $22 million to almost $25 million, changing based on how many classrooms the district decides to add and the level of storm shelter they include in the build. The board has to make decisions on how big of an expansion they want to pursue for the district, which will impact their programs and financials for several years, according to the special meeting.

"You know, it's not an excess, but it's not deficient," Bruno said at the special meeting. "And good policy usually lands in the right amount. And it does address all of our most vulnerable students, and it provides the capacity to meet the need for fuller kindergarten."

The board was scheduled to discuss the next steps for site plan selection and more research at the June 20 board meeting, where they encouraged public comment and input, as reported at the special meeting.