Pleasantdale Enrollment Expected To Rise

BURR RIDGE, IL – Enrollment has been stable over the last couple of decades in Pleasantdale School District 107. But officials expect it to rise in the coming years.

Since 2006, annual enrollment has ranged from 806 to 855, according to the Illinois Report Card website.

The district wants to set up a preschool inside the Burr Ridge Village Hall. The village is considering constructing a new building at the Village Center shopping center.

The district offered full-day preschool until a few years ago. Because of space concerns, the program went to half-day. In the Village Hall building, the district hopes to offer full-day preschool and eliminate the waitlist.

In an interview last week, Superintendent Dave Palzet said Pleasantdale Elementary School is cramped. For instance, he said, closets have been converted into office space.

The district's enrollment is expected to increase, in part, because of Pleasantdale's relatively older population.

The district's median age is 55, with 28 percent of the population 65 or over, according to the Census Reporter website.

Because of that, the district projects that many older residents will move away in the coming years, making way for younger families with children.

"We're expecting to see some turnover there," Palzet said.

Pleasantdale's population is older than most area districts. For example, the median age in Western Springs School District 101 is 41, with 14 percent of the population 65 and over.

Like Pleasantdale, neighboring Gower School District 62 has an older population. Its median age is 52, with nearly a third 65 or over.

New developments would also increase enrollment, Palzet said. He noted a new 26-unit townhome and rowhouse development planned for the northwest corner of German Church and Wolf roads.

The price for the homes is expected to start at $750,000, the Des Plaines Valley News reported in December.

Also, Lyons Township High School is still looking to sell its 70 acres southwest of 79th Street and Willow Springs Road.

The high school had planned to sell the site to an industrial developer, but abandoned that idea after residents and village officials roundly rejected it.

In early 2024, Atlanta-based Pulte Homes proposed to build nearly 200 ranch homes and townhomes on the land. The high school is mulling its options.

If the Pulte proposal came to fruition, Palzet said, "That would produce a significant number of students."

"We're looking to solve some of the space issues we have now and prepare for the future," the superintendent said.

According to the district, the purchase and renovation of Village Hall would require a property tax hike of $25 to $50 a year for a $500,000 house.