D112 Citizens’ Committee Wraps Up Community Forums

The last of six carefully orchestrated “Your Voice, Our Future” community forums to garner residents’ feedback on the future of elementary education in North Shore Dist. 112 concluded with a presentation in Spanish on March 2.

Did you miss attending a forum? Watch the intro by Dan Littman.

The presentations were hosted and planned by Superintendent Dr. David Behlow’s Citizen Finance and Facilities Advisory Committee.

Related: Read our coverage of the first of the forums

In his remarks in the district’s newsletter, Behlow thanked the nearly 700 residents and staff members who attended the two-hour meetings to participate in an important dialogue about the future direction of the district:

“To all of you who came to a Your Voice, Our Future community meeting, I want to express my gratitude for your involvement, and for lending your voice to this crucial conversation. There are not many communities of our size where so many people would be moved to participate in a discussion of this nature. Even more impressive was that every demographic of the District was represented.  Parents made up 65-percent of total attendees, and represented every single District school in almost equal measure. About 35-percent of attendees reported that they do not have children in our schools, but came because they still care about our community and our schools. And approximately 100 participants attended a meeting that was conducted entirely in Spanish.“

Highland Park and Highwood residents are being asked to take a deeper look at the district’s sustainability issues in terms facilities, finances and delivering a 21st century education to students.

D112 officials say they will incorporate residents’ feedback into their decision of whether to maintain and renovate aging building stock, or build new-model schools designed for the information age. Most certainly, residents face a school referendum bond sometime in the future, as well as the difficult decision of possibly closing some school buildings.

The citizens committee will present their findings and recommendations to the Behlow in late April or early May. The superintendent is anticipated to present his recommendations to the board at the May 23 business meeting, district spokeswoman Andi Rosen said in an email.

There is still time to add your voice to the dialogue. Take the D112 survey.