Lake County Gazette

The Arlington Heights school District 25 has been working with the village board for several weeks now on many expansion projects.

Early in February the district received approval and some permits for their expansion projects at Westgate and Dryden elementary schools, which included several new classrooms, gym spaces, and an outdoor sports area.

At the February 21 council meeting, Ryan Schultz, the director of facilities and operations for the school district, presented two more expansion plans to the board, starting with Olive Mary Stitt. The design commission and the planning and zoning board both approved the proposed plan with a unanimous vote, and there was no much public concern about the project either way. 

The plan calls for an addition to the west of the property, avoiding the east side as there are many substantial utility lines that run there despite having greater room on that side of the lot. The classroom expansion would allow for the incoming full day kindergarten programs that will have more kids in the building throughout the day. The school will be moving their existing playground over to be better situated, and are asking for a fencing variation and parking variation for the property. They will be putting in a crash resistance fence along Arlington Heights Road. They have an ongoing agreement with the neighboring church to use their parking lot during the week, an extra 290 spots, and the church uses the school lot on the weekends for their services. This allows them to have enough parking as their lot is not big enough on its own. 

The board of trustees was very supportive of this proposed school plan, asking a few questions about the courtyard access and use, and giving their approval of the fence along Arlington Heights Road as it improved safety for the students. They approved the variations.

"The fence on the Arlington Heights roadside, that is a wonderful thing," said Robin LaBedz, Trustee of Arlington Heights Village Board. "I was very happy to see that and definitely support this variation because like I said, you can't be too careful. You don't know what might happen these days for any number of reasons."