Lincoln-Way parents, residents come together as one school may close

NEW LENOX – Mary Gorski and Kate Figlewski fear they may lose their schools, their friends – and in some ways, the identity of their community – as Lincoln-Way officials come to grips with closing one of the district’s four academic buildings in an effort to improve its financial situation.

Gorski, a Lincoln-Way North student, and Figlewski, a Lincoln-Way Central student, both are concerned the school board may pick theirs as the one to shutter to reduce a roughly $5.5 million deficit. Lincoln-Way High School District 210 accumulated the deficit after years of a poor economy and declining state funding following the construction of two new schools to relieve projected increased enrollment.

After considering slashing curriculum and extracurricular activities, as well as a tax increase referendum, the school board settled July 16 on closing one school and may discuss which one at its Aug. 13 meeting.

Superintendent Scott Tingley said if a school were to close, it would be in fall 2016.

Gorski, an incoming Lincoln-Way North junior from Mokena, is in the top 10 of her class and has ambitions to attend the University of Notre Dame.

“I know specific teachers I’m looking to work with my senior year,” she said. “To adjust to a new school your senior year after working three years in one school … you’re basically a freshman all over again and learning your way around a school.”

Figlewski worries about the social impact and her future as a student athlete if Lincoln-Way Central closes.

"It wouldn't affect me academically, but socially it would because all my friends would be split up, and I would have trouble being on a sports team because there would be more students," she said.

In recent weeks, Lincoln-Way parents and residents have formed online groups to either support a school or discuss financial issues as they worry about how a building closure would break bonds between students, disrupt their children’s education and change the identity of their community.

In some cases they have debated which school should close, but many have advocated for less division on a decision that will impact everyone.

If a school closed …

School officials are deciding which of the schools to close: Central or East, opened in 1954 and 1977, respectively; or North, built in 2008; or West, built in 2009.

North parents, citing media reports and rumors from school staff, seem to have publicly expressed the most fear that their school will close.

If North closes, Gorski said, she fears separation from her friends because they all live in several communities North pulls together: Mokena, Tinley Park and Frankfort. Even if they ended up at the same building, she worries the size of classes would cause them to be split up.

Some North parents said they want their children to either continue to attend or have the chance to enter a top-ranking “state-of-the-art” school building. They question if an older school such as Central is current on compliance and safety codes, while they also worry closing a school would mean overcrowded buildings.

Talks of closing a school have been a distraction for Frankfort resident Elizabeth Burghard’s daughter, who will be a freshman at North.

“It’s all her friends have been talking about. It’s a total distraction for the students. … She doesn’t know what the future holds, and that’s a shame,” Burghard said.

Kate Figlewski’s mom, Lisa, said if Central were to close, commute times would increase for students who live close to the school since they would be bused farther. Switching schools also could make it difficult for athletes to transition to the already-established teams at the other schools.

She said Central is an “intricate part” of the Lincoln-Way school district and New Lenox community since it was built in the 1950s. The school, along with East, was renovated under the referendum that led to the construction of North and West.

It’s the kind of school where students can walk through the hall and see framed photos on the wall of their grandparents when they were students, she said. People stay in the district, Lisa Figlewski said, “because they want their kids to go to Central. … It’s kind of like a legacy thing.”

At past school board meetings, Lincoln-Way East parents have voiced concerns about social bonds breaking with a building closing. They want district officials to keep the junior high school feeder schools together if they draw new boundaries.

Deborah Harvey, an East parent, said if East closes, the students would be uprooted and moved, but she is not concerned that will happen. The high school is in a prominent area and has the largest number of students and capacity.

“I’m not fearful of East closing. I think it’s the least likely to close,” Harvey said. “I think for East students, it’s a matter of them being split up.”

She said rumors have circulated about one of the newer schools, either North or West, to be chosen for shuttering because of their lower number of students and capacity.

Attempts in the last week to reach Lincoln-Way West parents were unsuccessful.

Online debate, support

In response to the possible school closing, several online groups have cropped up to support Lincoln-Way North, Central, West and the whole school district. It’s there where they discuss financial issues, school pride and other topics.

North parent Ann Jenkins said she feels there are indications North is the building likely to be closed. When Superintendent Tingley presented school closure options for each school, she said “everyone feels like the numbers in the options are skewed” toward North.

“I can’t say their fears are correct or incorrect because we are still a ways out from kind of making a decision as a board on which of those directions we may go,” Board President Kevin Molloy said.

Ronald Sawin, assistant superintendent of business, said the numbers in the options are open to interpretation. Tingley said the options presented at the last board meeting were only examples of school closures for the board and the community to consider.

“This is a board decision,” Tingley said. “The board can direct me to come back with 50 more options if they so choose. The question right now is: Do we keep the junior highs together, or do we look at drawing boundary lines?”

Jenkins said she doesn’t want people going to the various social media sites and picking fights.

“I can understand why people are passionate about this. I would rather no school would close. It’s a horrible thing,” Jenkins said.

Lisa Figlewski, who participates in the Save Lincoln-Way Central Facebook page, said people try to keep that page calm and neutral. The same rules are in place for the North page.

“It doesn’t do the community very good,” she said about online arguments. “It’s tearing apart the communities that should be working together.”