Panel Will Look At Turning Summit Hill Into K-12 School District

FRANKFORT, IL — A committee to look into the feasibility to turn Summit Hill School District 161 from a system of elementary and middle schools into a unit district that would educate students from kindergarten through high school was approved by the school board Wednesday. That radical transformation, which also includes reopening the recently closed Lincoln-Way North High School, was suggested by a group of Summit Hill parents during public comments at a district school board meeting earlier in May.

The committee will be tasked with gathering and evaluating information concerning a change, including examining the costs and benefits. The panel will consist of between three and five school board trustees and at least two residents.

"This is an outstanding idea and quite probably the only way for Lincoln-Way to sell [Lincoln-Way North High School]. … It's a win-win," said Elizabeth Burghard about the panel to look into the proposal spearheaded by fellow Summit Hill parent Steve Cook.

RELATED: Create New K-12 School District, Reopen L-W North: D161 Parents

Although the proposed restructuring plan deals directly with Summit Hill, the impetus behind creating a new District 161U is to help alleviate the financial hardship of Lincoln-Way High School District 210, the system Summit Hill currently feeds into.

The centerpiece of the proposal is acquiring and reopening of Lincoln-Way North High School, which was shuttered June 2016 as a cost-cutting measure after District 210 landed on the state's financial watch list. Under the reorganization, L-W North would be fully used again and become District 161U's single high school. The Frankfort Square Park District currently rents space in the building, but it still costs around $300,000 annually for District 210 to maintain it, and the school board recently approved gathering estimates for appraisers in an effort to possibly sell the facility.

Opened in 2008, L-W North was District 210's second-newest facility before its closing, behind only L-W West, which opened in 2009. Taxpayers will be on the hook for L-W North's construction costs until 2033, and the repayment schedule sees sharp spikes over that time.

RELATED: Appraiser Sought For Possible L-W North Sale

Cook's proposal would work to avoid this by helping District 210 refinance its bond debt. Not only would it eliminate the steep repayments for taxpayers, but it would improve Lincoln-Way's finances and help remove it from the state's watch list, the proposal states.

A video of Cook's presentation during the May 9 Summit Hill board meeting can be seen above.

District 161 parents and residents interested in being considered for the committee can complete a brief online survey.

Image via Summit Hill School District 161