Welch-Neuqua Parents Protest Potential School District Changes

Naperville IL

15 October, 2021

7:01 PM

Description

NAPERVILLE, IL — Families in the Welch-Neuqua community of Naperville are fighting to keep their neighborhood together amidst talks of school district boundaries changing. A protest is scheduled Saturday, led by Welch Elementary School families who oppose a plan from the district that would, in essence, divide their community. Indian Prairie School District 204 is considering re-drawing district boundaries based on enrollment. The district says some buildings on the north side of the district have too many students, while buildings on the south side have too few. These imbalances may grow in the coming years, the district says, based on what current enrollment numbers show. The most recent concepts are available here. Plans are not final, though parents and students are not waiting to make their voices heard. One concept would have certain students who would currently attend Welch Elementary School go to Owen Elementary School instead, according to the Daily Herald. Owen feeds into Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, instead of nearby Neuqua Valley High School. This change would mean a much longer trip to school for these students, across Route 59, instead of closer to home. A group of parents will lead a protest Saturday at several points on Route 59, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Among their concerns are student safety, lack of walkability, and a splitting of their neighborhood if some Welch students are moved to Owen. The current Welch-Neuqua community will be at the intersections of Rt59 and 83/87/95 to highlight the safety risk posed by IPSD 204 school district reboundary decisions. @nctv17 @ipsd204 @rafaguerrero14 @Kevin_Schmitt pic.twitter.com/eARX5uMVRl— Welch 4 Neuqua (@WNeuqua) October 13, 2021 Protest sites are on the southeast corner of 83rd Street and Route 59; the southeast corner of 87th Street and Route 59; and the southeast corner of 95th Street and Route 59. A plan that would have all Welch students go to Waubonsie was scrapped earlier in the planning process, the Chicago Tribune reports. Residents plan to attend to the IPSD school board meeting on Monday and have another march scheduled next Friday. The next boundary committee meeting is October 27.