The Springfield School District 186 board of education will hold its second of three public meetings today on a proposal to build a new school building that would explore the consolidation of Hazel Dell, Laketown and Southern View elementary schools.
Today’s meeting at Southern View, 3338 S. Fifth St., begins at 6 p.m.
The consolidation of Hazel Dell and Laketown was part of Our Schools Our Future, the facilities master plan dating back to 2017. Southern View entered the conversation as part of the proposal when architects started taking a look at the building to consider updating some construction at the building, according to School District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill.
All three schools have experienced enrollment declines, Gill added.
According to a guideline on the district’s website, a 13.2-acre site on 11th Street now is being considered as having “the highest potential for a new school facility.” The school would serve about 450 students.
The district does not currently own the property. It is the former site of the corporate offices of H.D. Smith Co., a pharmaceutical wholesaler based in Springfield.
The guideline also provides a “site analysis” of all three schools.
Gill will make remarks at Wednesday’s meeting, which is also expected to include engineers and architects for the proposed project. Because it is a board meeting, a quorum of school board members is needed.
The meeting will not be livestreamed.
The final meeting at Laketown, 1825 Lee St., is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 12.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, [email protected], twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
