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New boundary map opened 2004 with a loud bang for U-46.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Tara Malone Daily Herald Staff Writer

On a cold and blustery night in January, parents, teachers and students filled every seat in the school board room.

They spilled into aisles, lined the room's walls and crouched on the carpeted floor.

That, perhaps, was the first clue 2004 would be a year like few others for Elgin Area School District U-46.

The inaugural school board meeting of 2004 was no mind-numbing budget session.

Instead, it was the unveiling of a plan that would dramatically alter boundaries for 48 elementary and middle schools, close two schools and open four others.

The crowds didn't ebb as the year unfolded.

The sweeping boundary changes that shuffled nearly 10,000 students to different schools ignited a maelstrom of controversy, the remnants of which linger still.

Many parents concerned with the shifting boundaries signed petitions of protest.

Some Elgin city politicians, community leaders, teachers, parents and students picketed Superintendent Connie Neale's office before the boundary map came to a board vote March 15.

A group of Elgin parents accused district leaders of racial discrimination, hired a law...

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