North Cook News

The village board of Arlington Heights discussed one of a few big school projects in the area during their Feb. 6 board meeting, including the Westgate Elementary School construction project.

Ryan Schultz, the director of facilities and operations for the school district, was the representative to present their proposal to the village board. Westgate Elementary School is seeing increasing enrollment due to neighborhood changes and the growth of the downtown area. They also require more space than the average elementary school due to their extensive special education program.

"But we are, when [Ryan Schultz] says we are at 100% [capacity], we’re using the teacher’s lounge for classes," Superintendent Lori Bein said. "We’re using some storage areas for small group learning places. So we really have no empty room at Westgate at this point."

The proposal for the Westgate project comes as a result of the district’s plan to expand from their two half-day kindergarten programs to a full-day kindergarten program. This change was supported by parents and the community, and was a part of the district referendum that was already passed in an election. The change from a.m. and p.m. half-day programs, which can essentially share one classroom between two classes, to full-day classes, creates the need for multiple new classrooms to accommodate all students. The addition on Westgate Elementary will add 10 new classrooms, a new gym, as the old one will be repurposed, and will expand the playground, as well as changes and repairs to their parking lot and drainage systems. 

The plans had been reviewed by the planning committee and the city staff on several occasions, and had received approval and a recommendation for adoption of all aspects – even the landscaping code exception that would allow them to not plant along one side of their parking lot so that they can have adequate snow removal space. Although some board members were concerned about the sheer size of the project and expansion, the board did vote to approve the changes and project.