DeKalb’s City Council and District 428 School Board recognized the need to move forward quickly with plans to better provide for local schools.

Members from both boards discussed together the problems facing the school district and possible ways to remedy the financial woes at their joint session Wednesday night.

Community Development Director Paul Rasmussen presented a summary of the results of the Growth Summit to start the meeting. Rasmussen explained the community’s take on growth in DeKalb, both residential growth and industrial and commercial growth.

Rasmussen said the population of DeKalb grew 11.7 percent in the decade prior to the 2000 census. The general consensus from the Growth Summit is to keep the population growth less than 2 percent a year, nearly twice the past rate.

School board president Tom Teresinski explained that to a school district struggling to provide with the current growth rate, allowing for double that rate is an arduous task.

The schools, he explained, which are already about 400 students past full capacity and have had three failed referendum attempts, could be forced to accommodate over 1,600 more students with the subdivision projects that have been approved already.

The district has formed plans to remedy the overcrowding situation by utilizing all of the Malta Elementary and Cortland schools, as well as transform the former Malta High School into an elementary school for next fall. These added classrooms, estimated to accommodate just over 400 students, will be paired with the reconfiguration of the elementary and middle schools.

Other ideas presented by Teresinski include revisiting impact fees and designating a school board member on the Plan Commission. Aside from the increased impact fees and pre-annexation agreements, the school district would rely heavily on increasing property taxes, something Mayor Greg Sparrow pointed out the community does not want.

Sparrow agreed that pre-annexation agreements would be a strong idea, but the city council has agreed not to revisit for another five years.

Second Ward Alderman Kris Polvsen commended the school board for exploring a variety of funding sources.

“These steps show the community you are taking steps beyond property taxes,” Polvsen said.