Few attend Mokena SD 159 meeting on school future

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Updated: February 23, 2012 8:19AM

A Mokena School District 159 public forum Thursday night drew a light turnout to discuss the possible closing of Mokena Intermediate School because of a budget deficit and declining enrollment.

About 20 residents attended the meeting of the school board’s building and grounds/transportation committee, for a presentation by Supt. Steve Stein — outlining three options regarding the intermediate school, 11331 W. 195th St., which houses fourth and fifth graders.

The three options are keeping the school open and leasing part of it, closing it and leasing the full building or keeping it open and leasing part of Mokena Elementary School instead. District 159 faces about a $1 million budget shortage this school year.

Mokena resident Kristin Welsh, the mother of four children, said she was disappointed with the low turnout. She suggested that lower enrollment could be partly due to District 159 eliminating full-day kindergarten prior to the 2010-11 school year.

“I moved to this district because it specifically offered full-day kindergarten,” Welsh said, adding that her family may move from the district to one that has full-day kindergarten.

Resident Jack McDermott said he understood the school board’s responsibility to look at all options but was surprised at the “low numbers of savings if MIS is closed.”

“When the economy turns around, will people be enticed to move to Mokena if our schools are in decline?” McDermott said.

Cha Peralta-Martinez said District 159 would be “taking a step backward” if it closed the intermediate school, adding that if the school were to reopen in the future it would cost more than the savings to be obtained now.

Committee chairman Mike Ford said the best option appears to be keeping the school open and leasing part of the elementary school to “generate revenue and stay flexible and adapt to changing enrollment.”

Ford said the committee will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at Mokena Intermediate School and plans to make a recommendation to the school board at its Feb. 9 meeting.