What does the Heart of Peoria Plan have to say about our District 150 schools?  This:

Project Name: Neighborhood Schools.

Finding: Peoria has maintained an architectural legacy of attractive brick school buildings, well located in its inner city neighborhoods.

Discussion: This plan has little to say about the schools, beyond emphasizing their importance to the revitalization of neighborhoods. However, the issue of the schools came up again and again at the charrette. Peoria’s inner city schools are reported to be in much better shape than in many cities, with some particularly noteworthy successes such as the programs at Harrison School. At the charrette, however, a number of citizens brought up the possibility of closing and replacing the inner city schools–including, most pominently, the high school. At a time when many cities are re-discovering the importance of smaller scale neighborhood schools to healthy communities, Peoria has an opportunity to capitalize on a resource that fortunately hasn’t yet been lost as a result of the fashion of the 1960s for increased centralization.

Recommendation:

• Encourage the continuation and expansion of programs to strengthen Peoria’s well-located historic schools, using available funds to renovate and enhance rather than consolidate or replace these schools.
• As a priority, renovation should include restoring the glass in the windows.

I thought the line about increased centralization being “the fashion of the 1960s” was especially amusing in light of all the people who think tearing down old buildings is “progressive.”