The Huntley 3000 Committee met last Wednesday to discuss procedures for the creation of plans necessary for the education of 3000 students at the high school. The committee was created at the request of the board of education, and they will discuss the accommodations that need to be made at the high school when a population of 3000 students has been reached.
As of right now, the committee is in initial planning stages amongst high school faculty members. Teacher Laura Martens is the supervisor.
“We need to start at the ground level,” said Dr. John Burkey, superintendent.
One of the most important issues raised by the committee is what the high school and its programming will look like in five years when this issue becomes reality.
“We at the high school still have continued to grow in significant numbers because the twelfth grade class graduating is much smaller than the incoming ninth grade class,” said Dave Johnson, principal.
However, this population growth is suspected to level off at 3000. According to Johnson, in the last three years, the kindergarten classes in District 158 have been no bigger than the year’s previous class. The kindergarten classes this year are even a little smaller than the second and third grade classes.
This growth is partly due to stagnancy in the housing market, which is not suspected to rise significantly in the next few years.
The committee will discuss physical changes, renovations, and programs that need to undergo change for a student population of 3000.
“I think you need to do different things with a big school than you do with a small school,” said Burkey.
Amongst issues that will be dealt with are hallway crowding. One possible solution is that not all students need to have a passing period at the same time, and a staggered bell schedule would create half the traffic. However, these plans are only in planning currently.
The committee on Wednesday discussed which local high schools would be appropriate to model Huntley renovations on. Among schools that were chosen as appropriate models wereBarrington, Naperville Central, Naperville North,Joliet, andSouth Elgin.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” said committee member Michelle Jakubowski.
