On April 15, the Unit 5 Board of Education voted on the final enrollment and facilities recommendation decisions.
This decision followed months of planning, community webinars, and public hearings that began in September 2025.
According to Dr. Weikle, the final proposal was specifically selected because it minimizes the total number of students displaced while addressing five core needs: enrollment relief, anticipated growth, inadequate facilities, aging infrastructure, and equitable distribution.
While the board vote was the final hurdle, families should prepare for a staggered multi-year rollout.
Dr. Weikle emphasized that nothing is official until the vote, but the proposed timeline is as follows: in the 2027-2028 school year the majority of boundary changes, including those for high school students moving from Normal Community to Normal West, will take effect.
For the 2028-2029 school year, students from the Pepper Ridge neighborhood will transition to Parkside Junior High.
This delay allows time for a five to ten classroom addition to be built at Parkside to accommodate the influx of students.
In 2029-2030, the district plans to target the completion of a new early learning center and a facility for the 18-22 year old transitional program.
Students from Benjamin Elementary currently slated to move to Sugar Creek cannot do so until the new Early Learning Center is finished and those students are moved out of the Sugar Creek facility.
To ease the transition, the district is offering exemptions, though they come with logistical changes.
Students may remain at their current school until they reach the highest grade level of that building, even after a boundary change. However, once the implementation date passes, families will be responsible for providing their own transportation to that school.
The district will open and reopen a form asking parents where they want their child to go to school.
“We’ll keep the form and reopen it every year so new families have a chance of sharing that information,” shared Dr. Weikle.
“If [families are] wanting their student to start at Normal West next year rather than starting Normal Community one year than having a switch so we’ll kind of manage [the enrollment],” added Dr. Weikle.
For high schoolers concerned about sports, Dr. Weikle noted that as long as the district’s plan explicitly allows students to continue at their original school, the IHSA should approve their eligibility, though the IHSA maintains final authority.
If approved, the district will launch a form for impacted families to declare whether they will stay at their current school or move. This form will be reopened annually to assist with bus routing and scheduling.
A major highlight of the plan is that it requires no tax increase for McLean County residents. Funding for new construction and renovations – such as the classroom additions at Parkside and Towanda Elementary – comes from the countywide school facility sales tax approved by voters in April 2025.
The district is prioritizing a new early learning center, which is planning to be a single-level, handicap-accessible facility. This would replace the current Eugene Field facility, a 1938 building that lacks an elevator and is not fully accessible to students with physical disabilities.
Despite the boundary shifts, the district expects the impact on busing to be minimal, essentially shifting existing routes to new locations. Regarding personnel, the district will monitor class sizes annually.
If enrollment shifts require it, involuntary staff transfers, such as from Normal Community to Normal West, may occur, following established teacher contract language.
At Parkside Junior High, while space is currently right, Dr. Weikle noted that class sizes are lower than other junior highs, meaning they can absorb more students once the physical classroom additions are complete.
The most important takeaway looking forward for the district are the earliest changes coming up in the 2027-2028 school year, but families should expect a normal school year for the 2026-2027 calendar.
