District Map and Facilites Information

Board Policy 4:150 – Facility Management and Expansion Programs directs the Board of Education to ensure: 1) The priority in the development of facilities is based on identified educational needs and on programs developed to meet these needs and; 2) When making decisions pertaining to design and construction of school facilities, the Board of Education will confer with members of the staff and community, the Illinois State Board of Education, and educational and architectural consultants, as it deems appropriate.

The goals for the District’s Facilities Management and Expansion Programs are:

1. Integrate facilities planning with other aspects of planning and goal-setting;

2. Base educational specifications for school buildings on identifiable learner needs;

3. Design buildings for sufficient flexibility to permit new or modified programs;

4. Design buildings for maximum potential for community use;

5. To involve the community, local school staff, available experts, and the latest in related current developments and research in building plans and specifications as appropriate;

6. Meet requirements on the accessibility of school facilities to disabled persons as specified in Illinois and federal law; and

7. Provide for low maintenance costs and energy efficiency.

Gower School District 62 practices Integrated Pest Management, a program that combines preventive techniques, non-chemical pest control methods, and the appropriate use of pesticides with a preference for products that are the least harmful to human health and the environment. Applications of pesticides are made only when deemed necessary to control a pest problem and after trying other means to control the problem. The term “pesticide” includes insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, and fungicides. Our school district does use a third party lawn care company for fertilizer and weed-control.

We maintain a voluntary registry of parents who will be notified in the event of pesticide applications, including weed-control. By putting your name on the list, you are asking to be notified two days before an application. Please be advised, if there is an immediate threat to health or property that requires treatment before notification can be sent out, parents will receive notification as soon as possible.

To be included in this registry, please submit a written request, via email, including which school campus (Gower West, Gower Middle, or both) you would like to receive notification for, to: Brian Riegler at briegler@gower62.com

Topic: Testing for Lead in Potable Drinking Water

Use this link to review the complete report for Lead Testing in Drinking Water at Gower School District (Sept. 2017)

September 30, 2019 – – ANNOUNCEMENT – Closing of Sterigenics in Willowbrook, IL
Willowbrook Mayor Frank Trilla announced today that the Sterigenics ethylene oxide facility will no longer be operating in the Village of Willowbrook. For a copy of the Mayor’s press release, linked here.Gower School District is pleased that a long-term and satisfactory resolution has been found. As stated by school district officials in August, 2018, “This situation is a multi-faceted, community-wide issue and will likely require a multi-faceted, community-wide response before it is fully resolved. It is also a stark reminder of how much we depend on local, state, and federal agencies to provide basic services, to keep the public interest at the core of their actions, and if nothing else, to simply do no harm.” – It has been made clear today that our community-wide response was an effective one. We appreciate the efforts of all involved in helping us ensure that our school environment continues to be a safe one.

September 25, 2019 – – Written Statement to the IL House Energy and Environment Committee – Public Notice and
Correspondence to the Board of Education
To download a copy of the written statement submitted to the
IL House Energy and Environment Committee click the following link:
Letter to House Energy and Environment Committee Chair –9-25-19

Important Update: Sterigenics Willowbrook Facility September 24, 2019 – – An Ongoing EffortGower School Community members are strongly encouraged to review the materials posted on the Village of Willowbrook webpage dedicated to the Sterigenics issue as well as the IL EPA website and US EPA website; each dedicated to providing up to date materials related to this issue. In terms of Gower School District’s ongoing efforts, it is
important to note that local area school districts have expressed their support of our efforts in helping bring a satisfactory resolution to this matter. This pledge of support is captured in the ‘Sterigenics Update’ news post on the
Community Consolidated School District 181 website and can be viewed using this link. In addition, High School District 86 has a dedicated webpage to bring further attention to this issue and can be viewed using this link.
The Superintendent of Gower School filed a witness slip for the Illinois House of Representatives Energy and Environment Committee to consider at their next hearing scheduled for October 10, 2019. More information about this committee can be found by using this link. It is expected that HB3885 and HB3888 will be considered as part of this hearing. The witness slip was filed as a proponent of both proposed pieces of legislation and will include written testimony for the Committee to consider. Written testimony is expected in the form of the public correspondence related to this matter and dated July 22, 2019, November, 20, 2018, September 25, 2018, along with excerpts from official district communications published via www.gower62.com. These excerpts, along with the written public correspondences, date back to August, 2018 and will be respectfully submitted to the Committee ahead of their scheduled meeting as required in an effort to demonstrate the context in which this issue has played out in our school community.

Important Update: Sterigenics Willowbrook Facility July 22, 2019 – – Letter to Mayor Trilla, Public Statement and Correspondence to the Board of EducationMayor Trilla, it has been nearly a year since the ATSDR report was made available to our community. On behalf of Gower School District, I thank you for making that document available for immediate public review as it allowed this important
information to be shared quickly through our school communication efforts. Before that time, discussions about
Sterigenics or ethylene oxide were not common in the Gower School Community. That has certainly changed. I have been directly involved in this matter since publishing our initial post on Aug. 26, 2018 and, along with many others, played a role in bringing the appropriate attention to this serious issue and raising our voice and our concern in formal and informal spaces to help collectively nudge us closer to a resolution. As stated in our earlier communications, and as memorialized in the official correspondence memos issued to our Board of Education on Sept 25, 2018 and again on Nov 20, 2018, “Gower School District officials will remain engaged in this situation until satisfied with the efforts made and the actions taken to bring about a resolution that ensures a safe learning environment in our community.” That commitment
remains today. It was also stated, more than two months prior to the Seal Order issued by the IL EPA in Feb. 2019, that “It has become clear to Gower 62 District Officials that a ‘do no further harm’ approach is now required.” I have read the proposed Consent Order and, despite being a step in the right direction in terms of calling for a significant reduction in ethylene oxide emissions and adding the most stringent controls in the nation, I do not
believe it meets the standard of ‘do no further harm’ that our community has come to expect.
I understand that potential loopholes and ongoing litigation may complicate the Seal Order decision and other options available for a long-term solution including the proposed Consent Order. However, from my vantage point, it appears that the most recent efforts to move this issue closer to a resolution has become more about finding a way to fit a square peg into a round hole rather than making the best decision for a community left with little to no trust or confidence when it comes to the establishment of new requirements expected to fall within ‘safe levels’ of ethylene oxide emissions and associated cancer risks. In fact, I am not certain as to whether the proposed Consent Order can meet the same standards of safety, performance, accountability, immediacy, and transparency that Gower and other area schools are held to – and when it comes to protecting our most basic resources; especially in a community environment built like ours – any level of doubt is unacceptable. Perhaps the question that needs to be asked, at the highest level of the decision making tree – be that in a courtroom or elsewhere – is whether or not the negative impact that this issue has had and continues to have on our community is enough to decide if operations such as these belong here at all. 

Respectfully,Victor Simon III
For full report please click here: Letter to Mayor – July 2019