Residents Concerned New Jefferson Would be a "Concrete Jungle"

Sixteen residents attended the District 200 at Monday, regarding the proposal to rebuild the outdated school.

Superintendent Dr. Brian Harris opened the forum with a presentation on the district's plans to rebuild Jefferson, citing the two options for a new facility architects presented to board members .

Originally built as an elementary school in 1958, Jefferson's amenities are not designed for small children, Harris said. He said of the maximum 289 students at the school, 66 percent have special needs.

While residents agreed Jefferson needs improvements, some expressed concern the new building would eliminate green space on the site.

Wheaton resident Jeff Holaway said the would create a "concrete jungle" on the property.

"As far as appeal, it just doesn't seem like it's a very appealing site," he said.

Harris said there would be tradeoffs to building a new facility.

"Whenever you do site improvements, there are always tradeoffs, there's no doubt about it... In this particular case, to build a facility to be program-driven, to meet the needs of the kids, we have to expand the footprint of the existing structure," he said.

The new facility would be about 62,000 square feet, located south of the current building, with a 147-space parking lot in front of the building, along Manchester Road.

The building would include:

• A media center, 1,700 square feet
• "Large Motor Skills" area, including an indoor play space and storage for special needs equipment, 4,400 square feet
• Administrative offices, approximately 6,000 square feet
• "Warming kitchen," 320 square feet
• Operations and maintenance space, staff and public toilets, 5,900 square feet

In a video on the school, Jefferson Principal Stephanie Farrelly said accessibility is an "issue" at Jefferson. Four of ten entrances to the school, she said, are not handicapped accessible. She added some students are unable to attend Jefferson because they cannot regulate their body temperature at the current building and are medically fragile.

Jefferson teacher, Kris Stoffels, said the school's limitations also cut into the school day, as taking two to three minutes to help students to the sink to wash his or her hands can add up. Helping ten students takes about 30 minutes—one fifth of the two-and-a-half-hour school day.

Judith Zaph, a parent of a former Jefferson student who started his school year with special needs, and graduated on track for kindergarten, led tours of the school Monday to show the limitations of the current facility.

She started in the gym, which is not air-conditioned and experiences issues with its HVAC system, then showed attendees a maintenance closet that is used as an instructional space. In one of the classrooms, she pointed out a bathroom entrance that is too narrow for a wheelchair to enter.

The current building is "inappropriate," Harris said.

The next community forum will be 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30 at Jefferson Early Childhood Center, 130 N. Hazelton Ave., Wheaton.

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Patch asked its Facebook fans what they think about the project. Below is what they had to say:

• Danielle said: "care about the school and what needs to be done, and we are all for it, however the plan proposed right now is too big. I live on the street and our block was there to voice our opinions. NOT HAPPY SO FAR!!!!"
• Jim said: "I think a new school is needed but maybe someplace else. Possibly the space between the court house and fair grounds directly across Manchester Rd. Sell the old Jefferson property to the WPD or private developer. Hawthorn school has single family homes across the street and its mini-van hell. Homes don't sell for as much when your starring at brick and mortar all day. Traffic delays on Manchester will now be on Hazelton."
• Jim said: "I'm also concerned with the increase in property taxes to the land owners, Budgets for new schools can run over pretty quickly. What if Speaker Maddigan gets his way and local municipalities get stuck with the pension cost. We could be looking and a 50% increase on your tax bill. 4,000 becomes 6,000 overnight."
• Danielle said: "the school needs to be re-built for sure. but the size of it seems way to big, plus it will leave no greenspace left. taking up about 4 times the size of current building. the field is use for endless activities and now it will be gone. soccer, football, baseball, family picnics, frisbee, flying radio airplanes, flying kites, etc....the list goes on.......bottom line the school needs to be designed so that there is "SOME" greenspace left. we dont need 144 parking spaces!"

Tell us what you think on our Facebook page, or in the comments below.

For more information and articles on the district's capital development plans, visit our Jefferson Early Childhood Center Topic Page, or visit the related posts:

• District 200 to Seek Input in Plans for a New Jefferson Preschool in Wheaton

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