DeKalb School District 428 and NIU will give presentations at tonight’s Growth Summit meeting to show where they stand concerning growth issues.

Both parties will highlight how each respective facet is being affected with the significant growth rates and outlook in DeKalb.

President John Peters’ PowerPoint presentation is titled “NIU and the Community: Growing Together.” It primarily consists of the various aspects as to how NIU’s growth will impact the city and visa versa.

Executive Director of Community Relations Rena Cotsones expects a healthy mix of numbers, philosophies and principles in Peters’ presentation, and that it will highlight how the DeKalb and NIU communities will link together in monitoring growth.

The presentation by the school board will look at information on growth in schools in the past while integrating it with numbers reflecting the anticipated growth years down the line.

School Board President Don Robinson said they hope to emphasize the need not to exceed a 2 percent growth rate per year in the schools. He hoped the committee could discover ways to create workable parameters for long-term budget needs in the district.

“If we can build more schools, the people will come,” Robinson said. “Then we can find a limit on growth, and we can plan a 10-year outlook [for the schools].”

In terms of the overall progression of the summit, Robinson said so far it’s been off to a great start.

“It helps everyone in the community,” Robinson said. “I think [Mayor Greg Sparrow] has been very honorable and a great help and supporter with our school district.”

Cotsones similarly felt the summit has been nothing short of successful early on.

“Anytime you get a bunch of people together like this has done, it shows a community that really cares,” Cotsones said. Star Poll