District’s View on McDonald’s Soccer Fields

District Logo

District 53 is aware of the proposed development plans for the current commercially-zoned McDonald’s Soccer fields on Jorie Avenue at Kensington. Members of the District 53 Board have engaged with Oak Brook Village Trustees and expressed our concerns and desires to be kept “in the loop” regarding any plans for this property.
 
It is our understanding from the Oak Brook Village trustees that no specific plans have been filed or presented from the Village regarding this property. Seemingly there are a number of theories and ideas, but none (per the Village) that have actually been made official. Given it is impossible at this stage to understand what the District may/may not face, rest assured the D53 Board is watching closely - and encourages all families in the District to do the same.
 
For the avoidance of doubt, should this property – or any other sizable area within the District’s boundaries – significantly alter the residential population density, District 53 will face a number of very tough choices in order to service an unexpected and significant increase in the projected student population.
 
Our architects have completed an overview of the square footage of our two schools. On a square footage basis only, they concluded the District could support an additional 150 students. This review did not take into account a number of operational and educational environment issues the District would face. These include adequate restroom facilities, food service capacity and class specific requirements (e.g. labs), to name a few. Given the Board has no proposal to entertain, District 53 must and will maintain all options available to respond to any large-scale changes. 
 
Such options COULD include: temporary trailers to serve as classrooms, significant increase in class sizes, split schedules, leasing space for certain classes in vacated commercial space nearby, reducing certain academic offerings and services, moving physical education to bare state minimums and using the gyms and other common spaces as instructional spaces during a portion of each day. 
 
The D53 Board realizes none of these are options that any family in the District wishes to see, but we cannot guess what may or may not happen in the future. We can only hold open all options, work collaboratively with local agencies to understand any potential impact and work diligently to provide the best educational environment possible for all families within our boundaries and available resources.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact the District 53 Board of Education at boardofed@butler53.com with your questions or concerns.