Urbana Parents’ Group Wants To Build New Early Childhood Center

Some Urbana residents any attempt to close a local elementary school would hamper education.

The group calling itself Keep Urbana Neighborhood Schools suggests funds from the countywide 1-percent sales tax approved last year go towards a new early childhood facility, or upgrading an existing one. The group has launched a petition drive asking the District 116 school board to use the funds as they were intended. Parent Lynda Minor is one of its members. "They did not campaign to close an elementary school," said Minor. "We feel that early childhood is a priority and they do need that new facility and we want them to use that money that way - not go backwards in all the progress we've made in our elementary schools by closing an elementary school and re-purposeing that."

Minor says shutting down an existing school would cause overcrowding in the remaining buildings. She favors District 116's option of combining early childhood with adult education to form a family education center. Minor says that would have been a great benefit for her and other parents if such a program were offered when her kids were in the early childhood program. The citizen's group plans to turn in its petitions at Tuesday night's special Urbana School Board meeting, set for 7 p.m. at the district's administrative center.