The Huntley Farmside

              SERVliNCi T lir. PtOPLE OF HUNTLEY Sl.NCE 196()
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USPS 580-360
THURSDAY October 23,1997 - VOLUME 37, NUMBER 29 - HUNTLEY, ILLINOIS
TWENTY-FIVE CENTS
Open Letter to District 158 Residents The children need your attention.
A referendum will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 1997. Your permission is needed to issue $14 million in general obligation bonds to fund construction of a new elementary school.
District 158 elementary schools are crowded. Enrollment in the school district is growing at an alarming fate and the rate of growth is increasing. Many students are still being housed in temporary buildings. Substandard space in permanent buildings is currently being used. More than a year is required lo complete a major building project. Action is required immediately.
After studying alternatives, the Board of Education has developed a plan. The plan is to construct a new elementary school with an ultimate total capacity of more than 1,200 preschool and lower elementary students. The school will be located on the Harmony Road School Site separate from the new secondary school recently constructed on the site. It will be constructed in two phases with the first phase completed bv the faU of 1999.
THE PROBLEM. Several elementary classes are located in temporary buildings. Several classes are taught in rooms not designed for the activity. Students and employees are struggling to maintain quality educational experiences. There will not be enough space in the two elementary schools in Huntley in less than two years. Enrollment in the school district is growing rapidly, current trends indicate a projected growth rate of more than twenty percent per year. Aggressive development fX)licies of municipalities within the school district and the arrival of the "urban sprawl" are resulting in high and accelerating growth rates. More than a year is required to complete a major building project. Even with immediate action, more emergency measures may be required. However, without immediate action, hardship for School District 158 students and their families is certain.
THE SOLUTION. The Board of Education has studied several alternatives for solving the problem. The only reasonable alternative includes turning to the residents of School District 158 for funding. The Board of Education has developed a plan to hold the line on taxes, maximize tax dollars, invest wisely in the future and respond to the needs of a rapidly growing student body. The plan provides for construction of a new facility designed for more than 1,200 preschool and lower elementary students. The facility will be ready for occupancy by the begirming of the 1999-2000 school year. The school will be located on the Harmony Road School Site separate from the new secondary school recently constructed on the site. It will be constructed in two phases with the first phase completed by the fall of 1999. Plans call for selling a portion of the bonds late in 1998 with the cost to taxpayers beginning with the taxes paid in 1999. The remaining bonds will be sold near the end of the project. A portion of the cost in taxes will be offset by: 1) tax rate reductions imposed by the tax cap, and 2) the deductibility of local property taxes on income tax returns for those who itemize deductions.
Your support is crifical if the district is to provide quality educational opportunities for our children. Now is the time to carefully study the current district conditions, projected growth and the proposal, then vote your conscience on November 4th
Huntley Board of Education
Halloween At The Library
Join us for stories, games, U"eats, and a great an project at the Huntley Library on Thursday, October 30th. 2 & 3 year old will be at 9:30am. Moms are lo bring treats to share. 4 & 5 year old will meet at 12:30pm. K-3rd grade - 3:30pm. 4th-6th grade - 6:30pm.
Tell your mom to phone us at 669-5386 or stop by to register . If you plan to bring a friend, make sure that Mom registers your friend, as well. Be sure to wear your costume.
Open House & Hay Ride October 25
Celebrate Halloween at Deicke Park! Our open house and hay rides are great fun for the littlest monsters in your family. We have games with prizes, and visits from friendly characters all night. We even offer free treats of donuts and cider for everyone. For those who are really into the Halloween spirit, spooky stories will be told in the Boy Scout Cabin. Only the very brave should take a guided tour through the haunted woods at Deicke Park. Every year around Halloween, the spirits come alive and dare the timid to cross into their domain. All activities are free of charge.
Open House : 4-6pm pre-school children: 6pm-8pm for grades K-4 Open House is inside at the Deicke Recreation Center with games, prizes, visits from friendly characters, and activities for the younger crown, with tasty treats for all!
Spooky Stories: 6-7pm some not so spooky stories for the young children: 7-9pm real scary stories for the brave. Spooky stories are told outside the cold, damp and drafty Boy Scout Cabin. It's sure to be a miserable time for all!
Hay Rides: 5-9pm for the whole family-weather permitting. Ride through Deicke park on a hay wagon. Beware, the spirts are out!
Haunted Woods: 6-9pm for the brave only. As we near Halloween the spirts are out in the woods at Deicke Park. If you are feeling especially brave, join a guided tour through the spirit worid. You may even see some people we lost in there last year!
Volunteer haunters and spooky ideas are needed, please call Deicke Park at 669-3180 to help.
Jim Heavey Honored for Service
The Huntley Lions Club honored Huntley School Board President Jim Heavey for his many years of leadership and service to the community. On hand to make the presentation were Lions Vice President Darryl Gurnett, Norm Brettschneider, Kerry Ellison, Arthur (Hoppy) Kahl, and Del Borhart.
Huntley Factory Shops Halloween Events
Halloween Trick-or-Treating - Halloween, Friday, October 31. From   4-6   p.m.      Costumed children are invited to uick-or-ueat the Huntley Factory Shops stores.
Free Creepy Crafts for Kids- Halloween, Friday, October 31. From 6-8 p.m. Children are invited to create fun and creepy crafts while parents relax in the Food Court.
The Great Pumpkin Give-a-Way - Saturday & Sunday, October 25 & 26. Customers who present $100 in same-day receipts at the Customer Service Center will receive a FREE pumpkin. While quantities last.
Where? HUNTLEY
FACTORY SHOPS - At the intersection of 1-90 and route 47 in Hundey.
Public Meeting Scheduled on School Vote
A public meeting has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight, October 23, in the HunUey School South Cafeteria, 12015 Mill Street.
The meeting will include small groups where questions will be answered individually.
Huntley Board of Education to Hold Special Meeting
The Board of Education of School DisUict #158, McHenry and Kane Counties, Illinois, has scheduled a special meeting for 7:00pm Thursday, Oct. 23, 1997, in the library at Grade School South, 12015 Mill Sl, HunUey. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss an intergovernmental agreement with the Village of Lake in the Hills.