The Illini West School Board will advertise for prospective locations for a new high school.
The board signed a contract late last year with Klingner and Associates for site selection and evaluation. The district expected to choose from four or five sites.
Superintendent Kim Schilson said the board wants a greater selection of sites to choose from.
She said, “We want to make sure that Illini West is sitting at a spot where it can grow as it needs to but at the same time not so big that it becomes a burden to the district. You need a building that's big enough and maybe could be added to in the future if that need ever came up.”
She said the district wants the new high school to be expandable in case nearby school districts consolidate.
The minimum lot size the district will consider is 24 acres. Schilson said 40 acres is optimum. She said the board will take a hard look at the initial purchase price and the cost of maintaining the high school at each site.
State funding will pay nearly 70 percent of the cost of the new high school. The district would issue bonds for the rest. The district plans to put a bond issue before voters in November.
The district expects state funds to become available in the next year or two. Schilson said the district won't proceed with the project until those funds become available.