Once At Odds, LTHS, Pleasantdale Reach Land Deal

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School and Pleasantdale School District 107 have reached a deal to sell about an acre of the high school's property in Willow Springs.

At a meeting Monday, the board voted to sell the land for $320,000.

After the agreement is executed, the entities will meet at the site with a surveyor to agree upon the acre to be transferred, the board's president, Tim Albores, said.

"Once the parties agree on the exact parcel, assuming there are no issues, the land will be sold to Pleasantdale School District," Albores said.

Board member Jill Beda Daniels called the agreement a win-win.

"I think it will benefit them well," she said. "I don't think it will impact if we choose to sell the property later."

It's unclear what Pleasantdale would do with the land, which is next to its elementary school. Before, Pleasantdale officials talked about building a preschool. Patch left a message with Superintendent Dave Palzet on Friday morning.

In 2023, relations between the two entities sank to a low. That was after the high school board deliberately kept Pleasantdale out of the loop on its plan to sell all 73 acres to an industrial developer.

The high school's land is next to houses and the elementary school, with local zoning barring industrial uses.

After the board's intent became clear in early 2023, the Pleasantdale community rose against the plan, prompting the board to abandon it shortly before a board election.

Earlier this month, the board reviewed a timeline in which it would sell the rest of the land next year. Officials have vowed that they would price the property according to the current zoning, which allows housing and light retail.

In 2022, board members strategized during closed meetings about how to keep their plan secret from the village and the elementary school for as long as possible.

Of the seven current members, only Daniels and Kari Dillon remain from the previous board.