Tonight's school board meeting is a committee of the whole meeting. The meeting is at 6 p.m., at Roosevelt Magnet School, 1704 W. Aiken Ave.
It’s being reported that among other things, that tonight the BOE will vote on purchasing more properties around Peoria High School (see story below).
What's interesting to note in the piece below, is that The District is using Woodruff to supplement PHS's needs, you know, since Woodruff already has all of the amenities PHS needs. As a result, people will once again regurgitate the old question, “why was Woodruff closed and PHS left open?”
Personally, I welcome investing in the area surrounding Peoria High School; beautiful, new athletic fields will be a vast improvement over what we currently see. For years my hope has been that every flop house in the area would be torn down. If The District has the money – they should upgrade the area and give students the needed athletic fields. #Forward
District 150 to vote on property near Peoria High
Peoria School District 150 board members are scheduled to vote on a proposal to buy two more pieces of property in the vicinity of Peoria High School, an area where the district bought four properties earlier this year.
If approved at Tuesday's board meeting, the parcels at 1803 N. Ellis St. and 1815 N. Ellis St. may eventually be used for athletic fields, said District 150 treasurer Dave Kinney. He emphasized the district does not have immediate plans for the properties.
In the meantime, the purchase will mean the school district becomes residential landlord for two more houses. "This is not necessarily where we want to be spending our money, but the opportunities came up," Kinney said. Two property owners approached the district, offering the parcels for less than the assessed value, Kinney said.
The property at 1803 N. Ellis, a frame house, includes an adjacent vacant lot. The purchase price is $30,000, while the 2012 assessed value is $42,750. The district would pay $20,000 for the second property, another frame house at 1815 N. Ellis, which is assessed at $34,080.
In July, the board approved the purchase of properties from St. Paul Baptist Church for a total of $262,000. The sale involved two church-owned houses and parking lots at 510 W. Nebraska, 602 W. Nebraska, 1820 W. Ellis and 1821 W. Ellis. But it did not include the congregation's former church at 603 W. Nebraska.
One of the houses has been rented, Kinney said. The other needs minor repairs before it is rented.
Though the purchases are bound to stir up rumors about building a football stadium in the area, Kinney said no decisions have been made. But Peoria High needs athletic fields at some point, he said.
The schools' boys and girls soccer practices and games are at Woodruff Career and Technical Center. Softball games are at Kellar Grade School and baseball games are at Woodruff. Additionally, Peoria High's baseball field has drainage problems.
In other property matters, an anonymous donor gave a 37-foot wide lot at 437 W. Nebraska, valued at $649, to the district.