DeKalb superintendent: New elementary school remains vital for north side students

Canine distemper uptick in DeKalb County, health officials warn, with tips for your dogs

By MEGANN HORSTEAD mhorstead@shawmedia.com

DeKALB – DeKalb School District 428 leaders are grappling with how to rally more community support as plans to build a new elementary school move forward, leading to recent talks with city leaders.

The district recently approved a $1.86 million lease-to-purchase agreement with Northern Illinois University as the latest step in a $33 million plan to turn NIU’s School of Nursing building into a new elementary school. District leaders next hosted a planning session to give an update to city and community leaders on the new elementary school building that is anticipated to be ready for the 2025-26 school year.

Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez said it’s clear that a new elementary school is needed.

“There’s an education building desert … [in] the north corridor,” Garcia-Sanchez said. “In that area, about 33% of our students that attend our schools live in that area. But guess what? They get on a bus every day, and they traverse the city different directions. Maybe even go to Malta to go to school.”

The district, however, doesn’t intend to do away with busing students to DeKalb schools entirely, officials said. A demographer for the district is projecting that an estimated 500 additional students could become residents of the city in the future.

The property, 1240 Normal Road in DeKalb, is composed of a single-story, 24,000-square-foot building that, once expanded, will better accommodate a three-section elementary school sprawling across 9.1 acres. It is home to the former Roberts School that was owned by District 428 until it sold the building in 1987 to NIU for a Nursing School, which was later declared surplus property, school board documents show.

Discussions of opening up a new school in District 428 date back to 2005, officials said. But plans never materialized until this past spring, when the school board took its first steps to make it happen.

Garcia-Sanchez said the district also reports that more and more students are in need of special education services every year.

“People will say, ‘We should stop evaluating,’ ” Garcia-Sanchez said. “Well, that’s against the law. We have to evaluate our students. We have to make sure that we are giving them the appropriate learning accessibility and that we are supporting them. That comes with a lot of wraparound services and that costs money.”

Garcia-Sanchez said all students deserve equitable access to education. She stressed that she wants the community to feel like they belong in the new school once it opens.

“We want to make sure that the building doesn’t look like it’s just being re-used but it looks like a community school and that they’re to feel welcome and safe as they go there and then that while they’re in there that they have what they need to be successful students and be able to matriculate to middle school,” Garcia-Sanchez said.

DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes said he supports plans for the elementary school, and offered aid to the school district to help sway more residents to its cause.

“Well, I’ve got a few comments, a few questions. You’ve thrown a lot and you’re looking for champions to be able to help you counter any negativity that’s out there,” Barnes told district leaders. “I’ll tell you, I’ll definitely be a champion because there’s definitely a couple things that guide me being a champion. I know most of you know me. But I co-chaired the referendum to build a new high school and a new elementary school in Cortland and to bring equity to the best of our schools.”

Barnes served on the DeKalb school board beginning in 2011, when district leaders were finalizing bonds to finance what became DeKalb High School.

During the planning meeting, Barnes suggested having a special census conducted so that a more accurate count for the city’s population is obtained. He said he believes, under the current census count, that the city is missing out on a significant segment of the community, and in turn missing out on a significant amount of federal funding.

In the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 43,862. But the city’s population has since dropped to 40,290, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

“It’s fascinating to me because … I know enrollment has been growing,” Barnes said.

In the district’s possession, the new elementary school building is meant to help reduce class sizes from 28 to 25 for grades K-5 and 35 to 30 for grades six through 12, as redistricting is intended to follow when budgets and facilities allow, according to school board documents.

City Manager Bill Nicklas agreed, saying the city would be interested in taking the lead with getting a special Census conducted.

“Remember when the census was taken, it was right in the middle of the COVID crisis,” Nicklas said.

Garcia-Sanchez said the district is fortunate to be in a position where it doesn’t need to go out to referendum to pay for a new elementary school’s acquisition and renovation costs, which amount to roughly $33.85 million.

The district primarily intends to use evidence-based funds from the state to pay for the project, officials said.

“The good thing is due to good business management, we’re able to fund a lot of this ourselves,” Garcia-Sanchez said. “Therefore it just makes good sense for our community to have the school.”

Garcia-Sanchez championed the district’s efforts to support students and their needs.

“By the time I retire, I want to be able to see that the district [is] in the hands that’ll be able to move forward and take students that we get, not just the ones that can stay because there’s housing,” she said. “I’m sorry maybe I’m a dreamer. Maybe that’s something. But if people live here, they want to go to a good school and all my schools are going to be good. And they are good, and they’re going to be better. How are we going to do that, though, if I don’t have the space to do that?”

Community members also are invited to upcoming public meetings seeking feedback about the planned elementary school. Families with elementary school-aged children are especially encouraged to attend, district officials said. Meetings will be Aug. 30, Oct. 26, Dec. 7, Feb. 22 and April 18, according to school board documents.

The district said it intends to communicate to the public about where to meet at a later date, but all the events will be from 5 to 7 p.m.

Local News Briefs

Instrument ‘petting zoo’ to be held Aug. 20 at DeKalb library

DeKALB – The DeKalb Public Library will host an instrumental “petting zoo” featuring the JCC Chicago’s Violins of Hope.

The event will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 20 in the library’s Nancy D. Castle Collaboration Studio, 309 Oak St., according to a news release.

Violins of Hope is a collection of 70 restored string instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust.

Patrons can view the instruments, including strings, winds and percussion, and learn their stories.

Because of limited space, the event is first come, first served.

For information, email brittak@dkpl.org or call 815-756-9568, ext. 2100.

Gregory King to perform Aug. 22 with DeKalb Municipal Band

DeKALB – Vocalist Gregory King will perform with the DeKalb Municipal Band at its final concert for its 169th concert season.

The free concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22 in the Dee Palmer Bandshell at Hopkins Park, 1403 Sycamore Road, DeKalb, according to a news release.

King will sing “Fly Me to the Moon,” “The Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppet Movie,” and “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Other music on the program will include “Irish Washerwoman,” “Candide” and “Tarantela.”

King graduated with a vocal music education degree and a French minor from Millikin University.

He has performed in various choral ensembles on three continents and is a member of the St. Charles Singers.

He is the choir director for Clinton Rosette Middle School in DeKalb.

Mr. Taps to dance at DeKalb Public Library on Aug. 19

DeKALB – The DeKalb Public Library will host a dance performance by tap dancer Mr. Taps, Ayrie King III.

The performance will begin at 2 p.m. Aug. 19 in the library’s lower-level Yusunas Meeting Room, 309 Oak St., according to a news release.

King will perform tap dance routines and teach audience members how to tap.

No registration is required to attend. For information, email samanthah@ dkpl.org or call 815-756-9568, ext. 1701.

English speaking class set for Aug. 17 at DeKalb library

DeKALB – The DeKalb Public Library will host a basic to intermediate class for patrons to learn English.

The class will be held at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 in the library’s lower-level Zimmerman Meeting Room, 309 Oak St., according to a news release.

The class is free and intended for adults and teens.

Attendees can learn vocabulary sets, pronunciation skills, and grammatical structures every month. The class will be conducted in English. All language speakers are welcome.

No registration is required to attend.

For information, email chelsear@dkpl. org or call 815-756-9568, ext. 1700.

– Shaw Local News Network