$5 Million Question: School District 227 Building Debate At Rich Central Tonight

Some members of the Rich Township School District 227 Board of Education are scheduled to meet with residents Monday night to discuss whether the district should spent around $5 million dollars to acquire and improve a vacant Matteson building.

That meeting, which includes a petition drive to bring the matter to a public vote, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at , 3600 West 203rd St. in Olympia Fields.

Earlier this year, the board voted to acquire the 18,000-square-foot building for about $835,000, with more than $3 million dollars budgeted for renovations.

Assistant Superintendent Ilandus Hampton made a case for the acquisition as a cost-saver when compared to the cost of renting administrative space, according to a SouthtownStar report in May.

Shelia Whorton said she and Cheryl Coleman, both serving their first terms, initially supported the vote because they wrongly assumed the community had been fully informed and supported the decision. 

"We agreed with it initially but then we started talking to the community, and the community didn't know anything about it," Whorton said. "Eighteen thousand square feet to house 30 people? That sounds like a lot."