As citizens rally against the closing of some Chicago Public Schools, community members of the South Loop gathered to discuss a new school building for Jones College Prep on Jan. 26.

But plans for the new high school building are officially on hold from the Chicago Board of Education, said South Loop local school council chairman Tom Kubiak.

When the hold is lifted, the new building is to be constructed on already acquired vacant lots behind the existing location, 606 S. State St., and expand southward along South State to East Polk streets. The planned facility will be seven stories high and include a gym, pool and full library, three facets absent on its present campus.

“There’s a lack of a large meeting space [at the current building],” said Dr. Joseph Powers, principal of Jones College Prep. “We’re extremely limited.”

Originally, Jones College Prep was just expecting to construct an addition to the existing school that would include a gym, pool and library. Then CPS came up with a plan for a new building altogether.

“That’s CPS; they’re known for throwing something out there, out of the blue,” Kubiak said.

The proposed construction was to begin this spring and to be completed in 2011, he said, but no firm date has been set. The existing building will be listed at an estimated appraised value of $20 million.

The project is still in its pre-design phase, as the new site space is very tight and will not accommodate the prototype of new high schools, said CPS spokesman Franklin Shuftan, clarified in an Email.

The new facility’s cost is planned at $130 million. CPS will provide $40 million and the other $90 million will come from TIFs, or tax increment financing.

Tax increment financing is a tool utilizing citizen taxes to finance public projects that may otherwise be unaffordable to localities. TIFs are set up in designated districts and the money taken from that TIF fund is to be only for the district.

The new building will hold almost twice as many students. Currently, the campus can accommodate 700 to 850 students, but the new facility will hold 1,200 students.

Because part of the facility will be paid through resident tax dollars, a neighborhood component would be introduced.

Through this, all neighborhood children would be allowed to enroll at Jones. This addition would most likely lead to a redrawing of the district to establish neighborhood boundaries. There is no further information on this development.

For more community input on the transition, the South Loop local school council met for its second public meeting to discuss the new facility on Jan. 26.

Many community members worry that the introduction of a neighborhood element would hurt Jones’ current high-standing and affect its selective enrollment policies.

“If we have to include a neighborhood component, we don’t want to lose the distinctive, rigorous academic program we have,” Kubiak said.

At Jones, prospective students have to pass an exam that assesses the student’s overall academic competitiveness to meet the prep school’s criteria for all students.

“What’s attractive to me about this place is the selective enrollment. Academically, it’s very strong,” said Veena Patel, a 7-yearSouth Loop resident. “I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around the logistics of how you would integrate [a neighborhood component].”

A similar dilemma occurred at Skinner Elementary, 1443 N. Ogden Ave.; the temporary address for the West Side school while the school’s new building is under construction. Skinner also had selective enrollment, but the new school was financed with TIF dollars so it will introduce a neighborhood component. Skinner will set up two programs for students, one for the traditional selective enrollment and one to accommodate the neighborhood.

Powers said there is no plan to remove the selective enrollment component at Jones, but an additional neighborhood component will be possible, he said.

“I think Jones would be extremely lucky, privileged and blessed to have all South Loop kids come here,” said Megan Madden, a South Loop resident. “I think it would still be as great of a school as it is now.”