Report: 117 looking at other alternative school options

By Gary Scott on May 31, 2016 at 7:27am

Could Jacksonville School District 117 be reconsidering its decision to place an alternative school in downtown Jacksonville?

Superintendent Steve Ptacek says the answer to that question is “yes”, according to a weekend report from the Jacksonville Journal-Courier.

Ptacek told the newspaper the plan to open the new school for elementary school-age students on the downtown square next to Lincoln Land Community College has generated “significant feedback”, and although he says most of the concerns are based on misinformation, he plans to explore other options for the school.

According to the paper, Ptacek says although he doesn’t think the option is “viable”, he says the district will look at possibly moving another program into the downtown building and putting the alternative school somewhere else, among other possibilities.

The downtown building is owned by Jim Cook. District 117 will pay $35-hundred per month in rent and about $5-hundred monthly in utilities.