Tinley Mayor Urges D161 Board To Vote Down Or Table School Closures

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz on Wednesday urged the Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education to reconsider what's believed to be the impending closure of two schools in the district.

A resolution up for vote at Wednesday night's meeting could lead to the closing of Arbury Hills School in Mokena and Frankfort Square School. District 161 pulls in students from Frankfort, Mokena and Tinley Park.

Glotz asked District 161 Board Member Stefanie McCleish to move to table the measure, or vote against the schools' closure.

"... our board is faced with difficult decisions every week," Glotz said in an email shared with Patch.

"... When there are school closures in a community, there are also huge impacts on the residents, children, and staff. None of us want to see this happen."

Glotz said that while his home falls within Kirby District 140 boundaries, he is concerned about the implicit impact on home values in the area.

"One of the many reasons that Tinley Park and our surrounding communities have higher home values is because of the great schools that serve our community," Glotz wrote. "I want to continue to see our children well-educated, and our home values rise in our communities."

Glotz went on to stress the negative impact the closures could have on the students.

"Many close friends won't be able to walk to school together, laugh, discuss problems in their lives, kick that rock that's on the sidewalk to see who can kick it the furthest, or say good morning to the grandparents that sit on their front porch watching the kids walk by every day," he wrote.

"In Tinley Park, crossing guards have become like aunts and uncles or another set of grandparents to our children. I stood with a crossing guard one morning, and seeing the comfort and love they bring to our children was pretty refreshing. Some kids would run up and hug them, and you just can't put a price on the impact of all of these people who put a smile on our children's faces.

"If those schools close and the kids get put on buses to attend school, YOU WILL LOSE ALL OF THESE LITTLE NUANCES THAT MAKE OUR TOWNS SPECIAL."

Also of concern to Glotz is additional time that students will have to spend on buses.

"I started looking up how much sleep our children need to function correctly and succeed, which is one of our number one goals," Glotz wrote. "I was shocked to see just how much sleep a child needs daily. If they get bussed, they will have to get up even earlier, losing some of that precious time their brains need to reset.

"... you will now be relying on a stranger driving your child to school, your child possibly standing alone at a bus stop waiting for a bus, and the extra pollution an older bus would bring with its exhaust in our neighborhood."

Citing a study by the Cleveland Clinic, Glotz worried time spent riding the bus could instead be time for much-needed rest for students.

"Most people don't realize how tough it is to make conscientious decisions about what they believe would be best with the information they are given for our children's learning and future," Glotz wrote.

"... The bottom line, we all appreciate your efforts, but I kindly ask you to table this action item and host a town hall or VOTE NO so all of the residents have an opportunity to speak. Every one to two hours on the bus is less time sleeping, resting, studying, or having fun with friends and family."

The Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education meets Wednesday at 7 p.m., at the district's administrative center, 20100 South Spruce Dr.