BUILDING A BETTER DISTRICT

Information | Communication | Transparency | Accountability

A Movement By Citizens  Demanding Transparency, Accountability, and Community Engagement of Central CUSD301 in Burlington, Illinois.

Building A Better District is a citizen-led movement in Kane County, Illinois, and is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, CCUSD301 administration or Board of Education. 


Kane County Works to Preserve 1,000s of Acres of Farmland

Did you know Kane County has a new Farmland Preservation Program that will protect farmland that is accepted into the program?  If you know a local farmer, make sure they know to apply for this program and protect their land from being overtaken by development.

Six new farms were recently protected under the new ordinance:

  • Schoger Ag, LLC in Big Rock Township and Kaneville Township
  • Carl and Amy Schoger Farm in Big Rock Township
  • Souders Farm in Kaneville Township
  • Maddox Farm in Virgil Township
  • Hermann Farm in Big Rock Township
  • Lucas Strom / Geneva Bank and Trust Farm in Campton Township

Right now, there are over 600 family farms in Kane County with more than 1,000 family farmers supporting 14,000 local jobs and an estimated $1.4 billion in total sales.

"The benefit of protecting working farms include reducing greenhouse gases, suburban sprawl and increasing the tracts of uninterrupted farmland.  Agriculture and open space occupy nearly one-half of the land base of Kane County, leading Illinois in the number of nurseries, greenhouses, floriculture and sod production.  New livestock development also accounts for additional jobs creating additional economic growth within the County."

Read more here:

https://kanecountyconnects.com/article/KaneCounty-Farmland

Our Rural Roots Are What Makes Us A Strong Community

Never-ending development may seem like it is just a given in our district.  Many of us moved here (or moved back here) to raise our families in a smaller school district with rural roots, away from the sprawling urban development that seems to be taking over the last vestiges of our farmlands.  While landowners sell to developers and the City of Elgin approves subdivisions, any plans to accommodate growth in our school district should keep our rural roots and landscape in mind.  Our local community should play a key part in those plans remembering:

  • our older residents on fixed incomes (many who have been here their whole lives) that can't afford a huge tax burden
  • younger families wishing for a close-knit, small community and school district
  • farmers-both generational and new- providing much-needed crops, livestock, and jobs for our local community

Any plan to expand our school district in scope or size should be developed carefully with the full participation and knowledge of as many residents as possible.   Transparency and community engagement is the responsibility of our Board of Education.  Building A Better District hopes to bring those core values back into sharp focus for our Board members and help them realign their efforts with the community that elected them.


About us

We are a local group dedicated to cultivating an empowered and engaged community of parents and taxpayers to build an environment of transparency, accountability, and communication within Central Community Unified District 301 (D301), representing the unified voice of the people for a successful and sustainable future.

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Building A Better District is a volunteer community group advocating for transparency, honesty, accountability, and community engagement from Central CUSD 301 in Burlington, IL.

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