District 146 Officials: Oak Forest's Fierke Elementary 'Eager' to Accept Relocating Tinley Students

Photo: Students hold lights at a December 2014 Fulton Elementary School holiday performance.

Overcrowding at Tinley Park's Bert H Fulton Elementary School has spurred talk of "first steps" to fix the problem, including relocating students to an Oak Forest school.

This week's Community Consolidated School District 146 School Board meeting shed light on the administration's hope to move Fulton Elementary School's Early Learning Program to Memorial Elementary School, as well as a proposal to redraw some district lines. There are currently 651 students enrolled at Fulton, district officials said — a number that's swelled by about 20 percent since 2011.

"This proposal is the most cost-effective and it allows the district to provide Fulton students with services comparable to other District 146 schools," Superintendent Jeff Stawick said Wednesday in a letter that will soon land in affected families' mailboxes. "It is our goal to positively impact our students while always practicing good stewardship of taxpayer dollars."

Proposed boundary changes would start with the 2016-2017 school year and affect North Brementowne and Tinley Terrace residents. They include moving North Brementowne-area learners enrolled in prekindergarten, kindergarten, first- and second-grade programs to Orland Park's Kruse Education Center. Additionally, Tinley Terrace kids in the same age groups would be reassigned to Oak Forest's Fierke Education Center.

The plan states that next school year's third-, fourth- and fifth-grade Fulton students may opt to finish their remaining years at the school or choose to move to another. Students relocating to Kruse or Fierke would have their registration fees waived.

"With the community’s help, the administration researched many other options, but they all proved to be expensive or impractical at this time," the letter to parents says.

Community members seeking additional information or wanting to provide input should attend an upcoming board workshop set for 6 p.m. on May 2 at the District 146 Administration Center, 6611 W. 171st St. in Tinley Park.

The school board plans to consider a boundary change resolution on May 9 during its next regular board meeting.

"The District is excited about the opportunity this change would provide," officials said, according to a news bulletin. "It immediately improves the learning conditions at Fulton. Meanwhile, Kruse and Fierke are eager and ready to receive their new students."

Officials expounded, saying they look forward to showing parents "how impressive these schools are and how students' experiences would enriched" by the plan.

Additional details:

• Follow this link for a full breakdown of the proposed boundary change.

• The North Brementowne boundary change is highlighted in red on the accompanying map. Prekindergarten through second-grade students living within that designated area would attend Kruse Education Center beginning in August 2016.

• The Tinley Terrace boundary change is highlighted in blue on the accompanying map. Prekindergarten through second-grade students in this area would attend Fierke Education Center with the kickoff of the 2016-2017 academic year.

• Parents are encouraged to email their questions or concerns to Superintendent Jeff Stawick at jstawick@district146.org.

• Visit www.District146.org for the most current information.