By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Darien Village Board on Aug. 23 approved a resolution to place an advisory referendum question on the Nov. 6 ballot asking if a community group should be formed to determine if the village should dissolve its partnership with the Delavan-Darien School District and explore creating a new local educational entity or partnership.
The district closed Darien Elementary School at the end of the 2017-18 school year as one of the results of the failure of the April referendum and a $500,000 mistake made by former Business Administrator Mark Powell. The district has its own referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot asking for $2.8 million over four years on a non-recurring basis for operational costs. None of that money, if the referendum is successful, would be used to re-open Darien Elementary.
Village Administrator Rebecca LeMire said if the Darien referendum is successful, a community-based group could be formed to pursue dissolving the partnership with the school district. The resolution acknowledges a municipal government does not have legal authority over the school district or any future district, so the movement would have to be a community-based movement. LeMire said Village Board members can be on the committee if one forms, but she recommended no more than two.
Read more about the decision, and history leading up to it, in the Aug. 30 Delavan Enterprise.
