Residents of Du Quoin, Illinois had heard the same promise for years: The new school is coming soon. And finally, after nearly a decade of waiting, the new high school may soon be a reality. The $10 million Du Quoin was promised to finance the construction of the new high school may come from the massive capital bill that was signed into effect this week by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.

However, school administrators are understandably skeptical. Superintendent Gary Kelly is disappointed with the long delay, and thinks state officials may not have the best interests of the state’s children at heart. "I think we’ve been held hostage by politics and that doesn’t help kids and our kids have suffered because of it," said Kelly. "You really get to the point where if it happens its gonna be great but we’ve been so close before you don’t necessarily get your hopes up." Kelly told reporters that he will not get his hopes up…at least not until he sees the money. Still, some are hopeful that the new school could be ready in time for the 2011/2012 school year.

The current school is known to have asbestos problems. Inhaling asbestos can cause lung cancer or mesothelioma. For the time being, some asbestos-laden tiles have been removed from some of the classrooms in the 54 year old school. Walls have been erected to separate the tainted classrooms from the rest of the building. In addition, temporary classrooms have been set up to ease the congestion caused by overcrowding.

Du Quoin senior Marcus Clarry grew up thinking he would attend a brand new high school. Instead, he spent all four years in the aging, asbestos-laden school. "They said we were going to be the first to graduated from the new high school and then we didn’t get it at all," said Clarry. "I’ve got a younger sister and hopefully she’ll be able to graduate from the new high school."

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