Fosdyck v. Regional Bd. of School Trustees, Marshall, Putnam, and Woodford Counties, 21
| Decision Date | 24 August 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 1,No. 21,D,M,No. 122,No. 4-91-0970,21,1,122,4-91-0970 |
| Parties | , 174 Ill.Dec. 524, 77 Ed. Law Rep. 362 Larry K. FOSDYCK and Phyllis A. Fosdyck, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. REGIONAL BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES, MARSHALL, PUTNAM, AND WOODFORD COUNTIES, Illinois, Lowpoint-Washburn Community Unit School Districtetamora Community Consolidate School District, and Metamora Township High School District22, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
J. Brian Heller, Washington, for plaintiffs-appellants.
John B. Huschen, State's Atty., Eureka, for Regional Bd. of School Trustees.
Norbert J. Goetten, Director, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Springfield, Robert J. Biderman, Deputy Director, David E. Mannchen, Staff Atty., for Regional Bd. of School Trustees.
Plaintiffs, Phyllis and Larry Fosdyck, petitioned the Regional Board of School Trustees of Marshall, Putnam, and Woodford Counties (Regional Board) to detach their property from their current school district and annex it to an adjacent district. The Regional Board denied their petition, the circuit court affirmed, and plaintiffs appeal. The only issue on appeal is whether the Regional Board's decision to deny the petition was against the manifest weight of the evidence. We conclude that it was and reverse.
On July 15, 1991, plaintiffs filed a petition, pursuant to section 7-6 of the School Code (Code) (Ill.Rev.Stat.1991, ch. 122, par. 7-6), with the Regional Board seeking to detach approximately 155 acres of land in Woodford County from Lowpoint-Washburn Community School District No. 21 (Lowpoint-Washburn) and annex it to Metamora Community Consolidated School District No. 1 (Metamora Grade School) and Metamora High School District No. 122 (Metamora High School). The 155 acres in the petition consist of six parcels of land owned by various people. The total equalized assessed valuation of the subject property is $39,720, and the property yields $2,081 annually in taxes to the Lowpoint-Washburn School District. This land is largely farmland, and plaintiffs own the only home on the subject property. No registered voters other than plaintiffs reside on the subject property.
At the hearing on this petition, plaintiffs provided uncontradicted testimony regarding their connections with the Metamora school system and their desire for their children to attend school there. Plaintiffs have six children, ranging in age from 3 to 20. Prior to a recent move to their current home, their children have always attended Metamora schools. Plaintiffs originally lived in the Village of Metamora and later moved to Cazenovia, a town near Metamora that also lies within the Metamora school districts. A few years ago, for reasons unrelated to school districting, plaintiffs again moved, this time to their current residence at Route 3, Metamora. Plaintiffs admitted they bought their home knowing that the property was in the Lowpoint-Washburn school district.
Plaintiffs now live on the border between the two districts, but live closer to Metamora High School (4.1 miles) than they do to Washburn High School (8.8 miles). Indeed, they now live 1 1/2 to 2 miles closer to the Metamora schools than when they lived in Cazenovia. Partly because of this proximity to the Metamora schools, the children would not need to travel as long to get to school as they would if they attended the Lowpoint-Washburn schools. In addition, Phyllis Fosdyck owns an upholstery business in Metamora, located only six blocks from the high school and 2 1/2 blocks from the grade school. Because of the proximity of her business to the school, she drives her children to the Metamora schools in the morning, and they walk to her business after school to get a ride home. She could not drive the children to Lowpoint-Washburn if they attended that school. Phyllis' business is approximately a five-minute drive from their home, whereas the bus ride to the Lowpoint-Washburn school from their home takes 45 minutes to an hour each direction.
This decreased travel time if the children attended Metamora schools would allow one of the children to start an after-school job he wants in Washington, Illinois. Because of the proximity to his mother's business, he could walk to the upholstery shop after school to pick up a vehicle to drive south to get to work on time. If he needed to ride the bus home from the Lowpoint-Washburn school, however, he could not get to work on time.
Plaintiffs did not focus solely on their proximity to the Metamora schools to support their petition. The children also do not want to leave the Metamora schools. Plaintiffs' 16-year-old son said that he would quit school before he would go to Lowpoint-Washburn; indeed, were it not for the shop class at Metamora High School, the 16 year old has said that he would not stay in school at all.
As to the academic differences between the schools, Phyllis believes that Metamora exceeds Washburn in all areas. Specifically, she mentioned that Metamora's shop class is better than even the local junior college's class, and that the Metamora grade school offers Spanish, which the nine year old has taken. She further stated that she was concerned that the Washburn High School and junior high are in the same building. Conversely, Metamora has separate buildings for the high school and the grade school.
The children also have special needs that the Metamora schools have already accommodated. One child is hypoglycemic, so special arrangements have been made with the Metamora schools to allow him to go to the cafeteria to get food when needed. Another child needs special help with reading, and the Metamora school provides an excellent reading and phonics program to address reading disabilities. Finally, two of the children have deformities in their lower back, and thus have a regular appointment after school, three days a week, with a chiropractor in Metamora. The children could not make their appointments if they went to Lowpoint-Washburn schools.
The children also all enjoy playing various sports, including football, wrestling, tennis, and track. In addition, the two younger children want to play football and basketball in the future. Metamora offers more extracurricular sports, including wrestling, tennis, and football. Lowpoint-Washburn does not offer any of these sports. Metamora also has a weight-lifting room, two gymnasiums, and a practice room for tennis. Lowpoint-Washburn has none of these facilities. The children also play summer baseball in Metamora, and use the library and swimming pool in Metamora. One of the children plans to become involved in 4-H through the Metamora Grade School.
Plaintiffs also socialize regularly with people who have children in the Metamora schools but do not socialize with people who have children in the Washburn schools. Plaintiffs do their shopping, banking, and socializing in Metamora, and they obtain medical and other services there, as well. Plaintiffs attend the Germantown Hills Baptist Church and must drive through Metamora to go to church. No members of the congregation live in the Washburn area, but some members reside in Metamora. In addition, Phyllis testified that she drives south to Metamora approximately three times a day but travels north to Washburn approximately only six times a year. Larry works at Caterpillar Tractor Company in East Peoria, Illinois, and drives through Metamora to get to work. He stated he travels north to Washburn about 12 times a year.
Finally, plaintiffs have family living in Metamora in case of an emergency. If an emergency occurs and the school cannot contact plaintiffs, the children can walk to their aunt and uncle's home in Metamora, located only two blocks from the high school and six blocks from the grade school. Plaintiffs would have no similar arrangements if the children went to Lowpoint-Washburn.
Plaintiffs also introduced the following exhibits: (1) letters from Leonard Ulrich, Marvin DuBois, and Joseph Garber, landowners in the detachment area, that expressed their approval for the detachment, and a letter from Lawrence DuBois, landowner in the detachment area, stating he did not oppose the petition; (2) a letter from Bob Fredericks, realtor from RE/MAX Realtors, stating that a dwelling located in Cazenovia Township, Woodford County, would have 8% to 10% more fair market value if it was located in the Metamora school district rather than Washburn school district; and (3) Illinois State Board of Education report cards on the school districts involved in the petition. Leonard Ulrich, owner of 29 acres of land listed in the petition, also testified that he favors the petition being granted. Ulrich further stated he also works in Metamora and has social ties to the community. He stated that he had trouble selling the house the plaintiffs bought because it was in the Lowpoint-Washburn school district.
In opposition to the detachment, Thomas Wagner, superintendent at Lowpoint-Washburn, testified that detaching the 155 acres would decrease Lowpoint-Washburn's tax revenue by $2,000. He stated that although this was not a large sum of money, small districts are struggling for money, and this sum would represent the cost of educating two-thirds of a student for the district. He testified that before plaintiffs moved, they attended a board meeting on July 2, 1990, and requested that the board approve the detachment. The board denied the petition, yet plaintiffs still moved knowing the board's position. At the March 5, 1991, school board meeting, plaintiffs asked the board to reconsider its decision, but the board refused. Wagner stated that the board traditionally refused to approve any detachment request because of the "domino effect" that would...
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