House Bill 1785, which state Sen. Patrick Joyce helped to move through the Illinois Senate Education Committee, would require public input prior to schools being closed for non-safety reasons. | Facebook
House Bill 1785, which state Sen. Patrick Joyce helped to move through the Illinois Senate Education Committee, would require public input prior to schools being closed for non-safety reasons. | Facebook
Citing the closing of a school within his district, Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) has pushed for legislation that would require public input before future school closings for budgetary reasons.
House Bill 1785 requires boards of education to hold a minimum of three public hearings to discuss any planned school building closure to gather community input, a release from the Essex senator said. However, hearings would not be required if a school building is determined to be unfit for occupancy for reasons such as health and safety.
“Following the closure of Rich East High School in 2020, I passed a measure through the Senate Education Committee today to prevent schools from closing without public input,” Joyce said in a May post to Facebook.
Joyce said that closing a neighborhood school isn’t just an educational issue but also a community issue. Particularly in rural communities, a school closure can significantly impact how far students are required to travel to attend school.
The local school board voted in 2019 to close Rich East High School following financial shortfalls in District 227, according to the release. With declining enrollment, aging facilities and budgetary shortfalls, the district had to choose to close one or more of three schools.
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