DeKalb School District officials say new early learning center needed

DeKALB – To help ease the effort to reduce classroom sizes, officials in DeKalb School District 428 are exploring plans to build a new Early Learning Development Center.

District staff brought this topic to debate recently after much internal discussion at the committee level, officials said. The Center also is not up to Illinois school code for serving preschool-aged students, they said.

Billy Hueramo, the district’s director of teaching and learning for primary education, said the district is looking to figure out how it can better serve its preschool program.

“We’re looking to be able to expand our program and be able to fill more spaces,” Hueramo said. “Because as you all know, the earlier we can intervene, the better it’s going to be for our schools but not just our schools, our community as well.”

School officials are now weighing their options as to where to relocate and make room for the center’s students.

Most center students are contained in classrooms at Huntley Middle School, but there is some overflow at Clinton Rosette Middle School, according to the district.

The school board in May 2021 agreed to reduce elementary class sizes from 28 to 25, and secondary class sizes from 35 to 30.

Hueramo said ensuring a safe learning environment is the district’s top priority.

“We renovated Huntley Middle School to be able to have [the center] there,” Hueramo said. “It went from what was meant to be for middle school students for early learning and development center students. We are making good where we can, but we are going to continue to get hit with being inadequately fit building for our students in [the center].”

The district has about 1,700 students who qualify to be at the early learning center, officials said. But the district only has enough space to provide for 340 preschool-aged students.

Hueramo said it’s up in the air how the district may proceed with a new build.

“We do have the Katz family land that the Katz generously donated to us, so that could be an option, but we are looking to explore different opportunities for [the center] and what that would look like,” Hueramo said.

Whether it be donated land or not, the cost of constructing a new building remains uncertain at this time.

As discussions continue and if it’s eventually determined that a standalone facility would best serve needs, that would most likely happen on the donated land, so there’s no additional land needed, officials said.

Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez stressed the urgency with which the district needs to act.

“This area is considered an early childhood desert,” Garcia-Sanchez said.

Board Vice President Christopher Boyes questioned the district’s handling of the matter, saying he believes it raises concerns about the process. Boyes referenced other district projects and public input.

Neither the district’s plans for the Beyond One Barb Transition Center or Dr. Leroy A. Mitchell Elementary School required the board to go out to referendum for approval.

“We have cut the taxpayers out twice on deciding whether something that should be up to them has occurred,” Boyes said. “Are we going to try and do it three times now within a year-and-a-half put another building to our taxpayers without giving them a say by going around without a referendum?”

Garcia-Sanchez said she doesn’t believe the district is obligated to go out to referendum.

She said she would consult with the district’s legal counsel about the logistics to help appease Boyes.

“Because it’s not a requirement, I’m not sure how [it] would bode to do that officially,” Garcia-Sanchez said.

The district anticipates using funds generated from activity stemming from south side development and the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone to pay for a new Center, if approved, officials said.

Armir Doka, the district’s director of business and finance, said the district has ruled out going to the taxpayers for funding.

“We’re looking to set aside these tax revenues coming in with the southern corridor including e-zone,” Doka said. “That is our projection on not going to taxpayer or raising the rate just simply capitalizing on that growth.”