This past Saturday, the New-Gazette reported the Unit 4 school board was considering moving forward on an exclusive 18-month option to purchase 8 parcels to the northeast of the existing Central HS location. The properties include:
McKinley Family YMCA: $1,880,000
($4000/month option price)
Hurst properties: $1,729,000
($10,000 1x option price)
Christian Science Society Church: $699,000
($4000/month option price)
Before the meeting, a North End Breakfast Club activist sent out a “Community Alert” questioning the move:
“If you read the tea leaves it’s not hard to see that Unit 4 is moving towards a three high school solution with the first step a rehab/expansion of Central High. Certainly this Board has the ability to move that agenda forward to the voters and yet the first shot out of the box leaves you scratching your head.”
After the board voted to move forward with securing the options, president Chris Kloeppel addressed other detailed concerns by noting:
“Securing these options allows those conversations to happen. We are not making any final decisions; we are exploring options. … There was a cry from the community, a strong voice that wanted us to take a look at Central, so we went and looked and these option agreements allow us to add that to the conversation,” he said. “This is why we are pursuing these partnerships with the city and the park district and working with these other experts.”
Although Chris Kloeppel appears to be raising his kids to be White Sox fans, I’m liking the way he and the school board is taking care of business. (Picture of Chris from chambanamoms.com). He also shares his views in today’s News-Gazette.