Schools

Keep MIS Open, Committee Says

The committee that researched closing Mokena Intermediate School will recommend the school stay open, if the school board meets one particular condition.

The committee tasked by the with recommending a fate for has come up with its verdict: They think the board should keep MIS open.

The committee's recommendation will go before the board on Feb. 9 with one stipulation—the board should rent out a portion of .

Joe Spalla, one of the committee members who also serves on the school board, said he initially wanted to close MIS. But after the committee started looking into the numbers, he changed his mind.

Find out what's happening in Mokenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"There was (a figure of) $400,000 in savings that was thrown around last January, February," Spalla said. "Once we dug into the issue, it became obvious the savings wouldn't be that great."

Find out what's happening in Mokenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Keeping MIS open and renting out part of MES was one of the three options presented at a public forum last week.

Tenant Would Be Educational

The district has previously met with potential tenants from the Mokena Park District and Lincoln-Way Special Education District 843 about renting classrooms at either MES or MIS, .

Whatever group ends up renting the space, the use must "schooling oriented," Superintendent Steve Stein said earlier this month. This would mean special ed classes or park district educational programs if one of those groups rent the space.

Committee members praised the idea.

"It allows the district to generate some revenue, it allows for some collaborative efforts with... other taxing entities," said committee President Mike Ford, who is also on the school board. "I think for right now it's a good win-win situation."

Committee member Suzanne Gillund said the savings of closing didn't overrule the costs of disrupting the students' educations.

"The cost saving if you close MIS doesn't weigh what we would be losing in terms of the educational experience," Gillund said.

One major factor behind the recommendation was a revelation by Stein that, while MES has about six empty classrooms used as storage, every room in MIS is used by students for at least a portion of the day.

Another was the additional cost of busing if all the students were put on the same schedule at one school. Currently, MIS students are let out at 2:45 p.m., then the same buses return to pick up MES students who are let out between 3:20 and 3:25 p.m.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here