Referendum Information
Will County is one of the fastest growing counties in our country and this growth has also affected our schools. As a result of this surge in new residents, our Lockport Township High School classroom buildings have become severely overcrowded. Central Campus has reached its capacity of 1,000 students and East Campus is already about 200 students over capacity.
The arrival of Interstate 355 and the accompanying residential and commercial development in our school district will bring even more growth to our area. Populations in the Crest Hill, Homer Glen, Homer Township, Lockport and Lockport Township communities are expected to increase substantially over the next two decades and the number of children in need of educational services will also rise as we grow.
Lockport Township High School is committed to providing the same level of quality education that it has for the last century and classroom space is an important part of this goal. In recent years, we have worked hard to make use of all available space and have implemented plans to delay, for as long as possible, the need for new classrooms. We have converted a book closet and other office space to classrooms and have students starting school at 6:50 a.m. to ease the burden on our hallways and classrooms for part of the day.
We have been working very hard for the past several years to develop strategies that address the historic student enrollment growth in our district. An Internal Growth Committee, consisting of staff members who are familiar with the challenges this growth presents, have been meeting regularly to discuss solutions and offer recommendations to the Board of Education. In addition, we have sought the help of Citizen Advisory Committees, which have hosted several district-wide meetings to research our options and have also offered recommendations to our Board of Education. The Board of Education itself has thoroughly examined the options offered by our residents and staff at its meetings and has included the research conducted by staff, residents and other experts in the decisions it has made.
All of these efforts cannot allay the inevitable boom of students that our district is in the midst of experiencing for the last three years. LTHS has asked our taxpayers for permission to build and equip classrooms at the East Campus and on the land our district owns on Cedar Road. Unfortunetly, voters have defeated our proposals each of the three past years. The documents that are listed on the right side of this page will help explain more thoroughly where we have been, where we are at, and where we need to go.
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with these documents and to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have about the referendum or any other school-related issues. Please feel free to call our offices at (815) 588-8121 at any time to talk or to set up a time for you to visit our schools.
W. Michael Petty |
Garry W. Raymond, Ph.D. |