Chicagoland’s hot housing market and rising population are driving its area schools into an expansion mode. The southwest suburban village of Tinley Park had been feeling the pinch in recent years as enrollment at the village’s seven schools approached capacity. In August 1998, Tinley Park’s Kirby School District 140 broke ground in the construction of a new 80,000-sq-ft elementary school to relieve overcrowding.
“Lots of growth coupled with the trend toward smaller class size meant we needed more rooms,” said Bob Prost, supervisor of operations and maintenance for District 140. The new school, Millennium Elementary, is designed to hold 800 students in grades K-5. It opened last fall and already serves more than 500 students.