Kelly and Shackel: Palos Park annexation could burden Lemont school districts

We join together on behalf of our respective boards to discuss an issue that has the potential to impact the educational programs we are able to offer in our schools.

The Village of Palos Park is working to annex a significant portion of land on the east side of Lemont Township.

The area is in the boundaries of both District 113A and District 210 and includes Cog Hill Golf Club, Gleneagles Country Club, Mid-Iron Golf Club and Ludwig Farm.

The area covers about 2,000 acres, or the equivalent of more than three square miles.

It is an area three times as large as Midway Airport.

Palos Park covers only four square miles, so this annexation would increase its land area by more than 75 percent.

Palos Park does not touch any of the properties with whom it has been negotiating annexation agreements.

However, it is preparing to acquire a piece of land owned by the Cook County Forest Preserve.

Successfully acquiring that small piece of forest preserve land opens the door to the more lucrative properties.

If successful, these annexations will pose great challenges to both District 113A and District 210.

Though this land would be part of Palos Park, District 113A and District 210 will be responsible for the education of students who live on this property when some or all of it inevitably is developed into residential housing.

The school district boundaries would not be redrawn.

The area covered by Ludwig Farm is expected to be developed into high density housing.

Nothing would preclude Cog Hill and Gleneagles from doing something similar in the future.

If all 2,000 acres of this proposed annexation are turned into residential developments, our school populations will explode. This could necessitate the construction of additional school buildings, and would almost assuredly result in an additional tax burden on our community. It is estimated that these 2,000 acres could hold 4,200 units. This could result in a growth of more than 1,900 students for District 113A, and an increase of nearly 700 students for District 210.

An increase of this magnitude would cost the community millions of dollars more than the property tax revenue that would be generated from the residential developments.

Putting together a fiscally responsible budget already is a monumental challenge for our school districts because so many factors are up in the air in relation to school finance. Massive residential developments that come without adequate revenue resources will pose tremendous fiscal challenges for our districts.

Our community is united by a common thread – the children that our school districts serve. The education of all of our future students has a chance to be negatively affected by this annexation attempt.

Cindy Kelly is President of Lemont-Bromberek School District 113A Board of Education. Mike Shackel is President of Lemont High School District 210 Board of Education.