04-25 •
Resolution No. 04-25
A RESOLUTION
URGING SCHOOL DISTRICT U-46 TO
MAINTAIN THE EXISTING DIVERSITY OF ELGIN SCHOOLS
IN ITS PROPOSED BOUNDARY PLAN
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS as
follows:
The City of Elgin and School District U-46 are home to families from all walks of life. And al-
though these families encompass a multitude of social and economic backgrounds, they nonethe-
less share common goals. Raising children in a safe, desirable community and obtaining an edu-
cation that offers each child every opportunity to succeed are of paramount importance to the
families served by the City of Elgin and School District U-46.
If the City of Elgin and School District U-46 are to succeed in meeting the expectations of the
families they serve, the city and the school district cannot operate in isolation from each other.
Their existence is intertwined and mutual cooperation is required to properly address the external
challenges facing the community they share. The city and the school district must work in con-
cert to optimize their assets and capitalize on any presented opportunity to ensure the continued
viability of the community for future generations. Short-term decisions providing only immedi-
ate relief cannot be made at the expense of a long-term vision that benefits the entire community.
The City of Elgin and School District U-46 have historically fostered policies within their re-
spective administrations that recognize the diversity of their constituencies. The city remains
vigilant in maintaining the socioeconomic balance of its neighborhoods and the school district
has typically sought to achieve a similar balance within its elementary and middle schools. The
school district's new boundary plan, in one fell swoop, strikes down the tenuous social and eco-
nomic balance that has existed in its elementary and middle schools for years. Under the school
district's proposed boundaries, lower-income, primarily Latino students would be clustered in
Elgin schools.
Decisions of such magnitude and grave consequence cannot be made within a compressed time
frame. The community must be afforded an opportunity to critically examine the short and long-
term consequences of such a policy. Alternative policies must also be derived and presented so
that truly informed decisions regarding the long-term viability of our city and schools can be
made by the community's stakeholders.
The City of Elgin respectfully urges School District U-46 to slow the boundary amendment
process in order to allow the community to consider alternative policies that will effectively
maintain the diversity of our schools and neighborhoods; alternative policies that will consider
the significance schools like Century Oaks Elementary School contribute to the community.
The City of Elgin believes the community has the desire and the ability to adopt policies for cre-
ating schools that can effectively unite quality education with cultural and economic diversity.
Working in conjunction on such a mutually beneficial goal, School District U-46 and the City of
Elgin can present a model for city-school collaboration that serves as inspiration to other com-
munities facing similar difficulties.
s/Ed Schock
Ed Schock,Mayor
Presented: February 11, 2004
Adopted: February 11, 2004
Vote: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0
Attest:
s/Dolonna Mecum
Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk