Jefferson School — District 709's oldest building, built in 1928 — is up for closure if school board members decide to do so after the results of a community survey are sent out and later evaluated next month.
The core committee studying the district's facility needs finalized the two options Tuesday night at the Morton Education and Administration Center.
Both options include the closing of Jefferson School, which serves grades kindergarten through sixth, but differ in destinations for the 321 students who currently attend the elementary school. Seven years separate the two options.
Option 1
If Jefferson is closed, in three years students would be relocated to District 709's three other elementary schools — Grundy Elementary, Lettie Brown Elementary or Lincoln Elementary. Each of the three schools would be renovated and expanded to satisfy the space needs for the additional students.
Option 2
In 10 years, after the closure of Jefferson School, Jefferson students would be moved to the current location of Morton High School. The high school would become Morton Junior High School's new location. The school would be separated to include both the junior high, as well as Jefferson Elementary students. A new high school would be constructed and the current junior high would be closed.
The above options will make their way onto a survey prepared by the survey committee, which will, in turn, mail the surveys to members of the community who are more likely to vote on a possible referendum.
In November, Craig Barley, chairman of the survey subcommittee suggested it may be necessary to target a group of residents for a survey to give the district a better idea of what stands to succeed in a potential referendum. The survey will be targeted to about 400 potential voters. It would also be offered to the general public.
The earliest a referendum could be voted on is November.
