High School options in the Forest Park area? (Chicago, Berwyn: foreclosed, mortgage)

[day_dreamer]

Just an observation. I've been thinking about the school districts just west of Chicago. Of course areas like OPRF, Riverside Brookfield are nice, but what about the kids in Forest Park? It's a nice enough area, but there is no way a person would want to send their kid to Proviso East. So, what are the options for these parents? Does the family just up and move when the kids are HS age, or do they go to private schools?

[kindrakindra]

Fenwick, Trinity and even Ignatius are not far away.

[chet everett]

Nazereth in LaGrange Park and St. Josephs in Westchester probably are more affordable options ...

[BRU67]

Fenwick (Oak Park), St. Joseph (Westchester), Nazereth (La Grange Park), and Trinity (River Forest) are nearby private high school options often exercised by middle class parents in Forest Park (and Berwyn). Proviso East unfortunately has a lot of problems at this point, unless you can get your kid into the Math and Science Academy.

[second_time_home_buyer]

So... my wife and I live in Forest Park. We have been struggling with the decision to sell or not sell move somewhere else for this same reason.
We pay almost 9K in property taxes per year and the way we see it is that the amount of money we pay in taxes does not match the quality of the schools there.

Now, let me add my own couple of questions, is Proviso Math and Science Academy a good choice? I have heard different opinions.

How about the schools BEFORE high school, kinder garden, middle school, grammar school, etc...

Our daughter is 3 years old now, and there is still a long wait before she goes to high school, a lot of things can happen between now and then, also because any other place we've looked at with a good school district has pretty high taxes as well.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by second_time_home_buyer

So... my wife and I live in Forest Park. We have been struggling with the decision to sell or not sell move somewhere else for this same reason.
We pay almost 9K in property taxes per year and the way we see it is that the amount of money we pay in taxes does not match the quality of the schools there.

Now, let me add my own couple of questions, is Proviso Math and Science Academy a good choice? I have heard different opinions.

How about the schools BEFORE high school, kinder garden, middle school, grammar school, etc...

Our daughter is 3 years old now, and there is still a long wait before she goes to high school, a lot of things can happen between now and then, also because any other place we've looked at with a good school district has pretty high taxes as well.

9k is a lot in property taxes. You must have quite the house in FP!Those kind of taxes could get you into a decent house in Oak Park or Riverside.

Surprised you didn't look into it before but it should be easy enough to find out about the schools before HS, and the Academy. Just go to NIU's interactive report card and see how they're doing.

Illinois Interactive Report Card

As to moving, only you can make that call. Remember that when you add up closing costs, attorneys' fees, moving costs, and all that, you're probably looking at about 15-20k. And there's of course the higher mortgage and taxes you'll incur going forward. So you have to add all that up and decide: a) how bad the public schools are; and, b) how much private schools will cost compared to the cost of a move.

[second_time_home_buyer]

Originally Posted by BRU67

9k is a lot in property taxes. You must have quite the house in FP!Those kind of taxes could get you into a decent house in Oak Park or Riverside.

Surprised you didn't look into it before but it should be easy enough to find out about the schools before HS, and the Academy. Just go to NIU's interactive report card and see how they're doing.

Illinois Interactive Report Card

thanks a lot, I will do that...

9K is not a lot for Forest Park, I do not have a huge home, I have a normal home right on Harlem ave, so it is really noisy.

I have a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathrooms, kitchen, living-dining-room combo. I guess it is a little bit bigger than normal, but we bought it foreclosed so we only paid like 200K for it.

I did look into Oak Park, but the nice homes or at least the homes in nice areas of Oak Park are too expensive...

[second_time_home_buyer]

It almost seems like private school is the answer, but then I am limited to having just one child, which is not a bad thing, but I was really hoping for 2 or 3 children, but unless my wife remains a working mom, we cannot afford to send more than one child to private school. I guess even if my wife keeps on working, child care plus private school, pffft, day care alone can cost you 1000 per month (we are paying $840 per month to a family member).

Oh well, I guess I gotta stop the b**ching and start the thinking.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by second_time_home_buyer

9K is not a lot for Forest Park, I do not have a huge home, I have a normal home right on Harlem ave, so it is really noisy.

I did look into Oak Park, but the nice homes or at least the homes in nice areas of Oak Park are too expensive...

I have read your posts on another thread, and you're correct - houses in the "nicer" parts of OP are too expensive.

However, even the less nice parts of OP can still be cool. How about South Oak Park - basically the stretch of OP south of the Ike? OP doesn't have any homes on Harlem, so no matter where you end up it will be quiet and peaceful. Prices in the south tend to be much lower, as most people want to be close to the downtown areas so overpay for the location. But in your situation I would think south OP would be ideal. You will instantly have better schools, won't have to worry about high school, but will still have the property tax issue.

The other option is Berwyn. Even less expensive than OP, but now you have to look closely at the specific elementary school you would be in. And I think the high school is not good.

[second_time_home_buyer]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

I have read your posts on another thread, and you're correct - houses in the "nicer" parts of OP are too expensive.

However, even the less nice parts of OP can still be cool. How about South Oak Park - basically the stretch of OP south of the Ike? OP doesn't have any homes on Harlem, so no matter where you end up it will be quiet and peaceful. Prices in the south tend to be much lower, as most people want to be close to the downtown areas so overpay for the location. But in your situation I would think south OP would be ideal. You will instantly have better schools, won't have to worry about high school, but will still have the property tax issue.

The other option is Berwyn. Even less expensive than OP, but now you have to look closely at the specific elementary school you would be in. And I think the high school is not good.

Great advice JacksonPanther, I will take a look at that area, I mean, it is still Oak Park, and it is still close to everything I want to be close at. The property taxes will probably be comparable to what I pay now so it should work out.
Thanks a lot.