On Thursday night, the Lincoln-Way high school board voted to close Lincoln-Way North starting for the 2016-2017 school year.
The once-rapidly growing school district, that serves southwest suburban Frankfort, New Lenox, Mokena, Tinley Park and Manhattan needed to put together a deficit spending program by September after ending up on the Illinois State Board of Education Financial Watch List. The area's housing market, crippled by the recession, low state funding and lower-than-projected enrollment numbers led to its financial crisis.
So what does this mean for Lincoln-Way North from an overall sports standpoint starting this fall?
[COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: Lincoln-Way North]
The fall sports teams will continue to practice and prepare for the upcoming seasons -- business as usual if that's at all possible. Coaches will continue to coach, but you can't help but wonder what is in the back of their minds, as they will be saddled with looking for a new job next fall. Budget cuts and school closings means less teachers, less coaches and less administrators.
The impact on the student-athletes? Expect the kids to, if anything, be a bit more motivated to win in what now becomes the last season ever. The current students at Lincoln-Way North will be merged in Lincoln-Way East next fall. And when four highly successful athletic programs merge into three, the opportunity to play a sport, especially at the varsity level, is condensed. And that goes for some of the exceptional athletes. This will undoubtedly be on the minds of every student and parent from here on out.
My biggest concern? Will the closing of Lincoln-Way North be a one-off deal or could this be the first economic warning shot for schools districts statewide?
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I hope I'm completely wrong here, but this story of school closings due to economic reasons, declining enrollments, state funding issues and more could be far from over. Stay tuned.