As of May 7th, we have raised $6,750, on our way to a goal of $7500. We’ve made great progress, but we need more contributions to get to our goal. Any amount is appreciated. Last year we made our goal with donations averaging between $20 and $100.

We take online donations via the PayPal banner below, or you can send a check to – The Irving School PTO 1125 S. Cuyler Ave. Oak Park, IL 60304 payable to Irving School PTO – Ragnar Relay.

Follow our progress here on the Irving Schoolyard blog or on our Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/schoolyardeagles.

A much-buzzed-about restaurant in Berwyn is donating a portion of its proceeds this month to help build an ambitious schoolyard project in Oak Park.

The PTO for Irving Elementary School, 1125 S. Cuyler Ave., is eyeing ambitious plans to transform the cracked blacktop at the school into an eco-friendly activity and play area. But it comes with a hefty price tag, about $3.25 million, according to the PTO.

District 97 has slotted about $500,000 in its budget for schoolyard upgrades at Irving. And organizers have raised about $50,000 thus far, and are exploring grants and other opportunities to close the funding gap.

Autre Monde Café, 6727 W. Roosevelt Road in Berwyn, is donating 10 percent of its Tuesday sales in March toward the Irving schoolyard project. The restaurant is owned by Oak Parkers John Aranza and Christine Tully Aranza, also the proprietors of nearby Horrorbles, and has garnered rave reviews in the local press.

Convincing the The Park District of Oak Park to devote some time and resources to the Irving Schoolyard Project has long been a goal of project supporters.

Now, several years after plans for the renovations were first hatched, there appears to be a modicum of progress.

Earlier: At Irving, a Schoolyard Awaits

Last week the talks nudged forward, with park board members acknowledging the Irving PTO’s project — which aims to do create a large playing field, state-of-the-art playground and reading garden — would be a benefit to the community.

Still, they said, it needs the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 school board to commit money to the project before getting formally involved. That’s about to happen.

Wednesday Journal reports District 97 set aside $500,000 at their own board meeting Tuesday for schoolyard improvements across the district. That money is part of District 97′s $2.5 million earmark from the 2011 referendum for schoolyard improvements at each of its schools.

District 97 spokesman Chris Jasculca said the district has hired landscape architecture firm Altamanu to begin studying, and later presenting to school officials, their improvement plans. Jasculca said much of the work at the schoolyards could take place underground “to stabilize the schoolyards for a longer shelf life.”

Those renovations will begin this summer, with Beye, Holmes and Longfellow getting the first look.

At some point the district’s projects and the Irving’s group’s ambitious plans will intersect. Already, district officials have pledged anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000 for the Irving improvements, though they’re still figuring out a total.

“What we’re trying is figure out if we can help some of the phasing of their project in some way,” Jasculca said. “It makes no sense not to do this collaboratively.”

For now, progress inches forward.

“That was the first time we met with the park board,” Jassen Strokosch, an organizer with the Irving Schoolyard Project said of the recent park district board meeting. “It’s a nice big step.”

The people behind the Irving Schoolyard Project are scheduled to give a presentation at Tuesday’s District 97 board meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the District 97 administration building, 970 Madison St. Details here.

Save Tuesday nights in March for your date nights, your girls’ nights out and “I don’t feel like cooking tonight” and head to Autre Monde! Check out Yelp for the fabulous reviews.

Please share with everyone you know! Click here to see the flyer.

Park District of Oak Park commissioners say they support a plan to renovate the asphalt blacktop at Irving Elementary School, a project pitched by the school’s PTO Thursday night. But since the park district does not own the land, the board suggested District 97 needs to get involved.

“It needs a leader,” said Commissioner Paul Aeschleman.

The park board meeting drew about 30 people, including D97 board members and Superintendent Al Roberts. Aeschleman called it “a tremendous opportunity for the community,” but the park board has no control over the property.

No D97 board members spoke during the meeting, but they set aside $500,000 at their own board meeting Tuesday for schoolyard improvements, which could include those being addressed by the Irving project. The Irving PTO said D97 has been supportive.

The PTO wants to transform the 80,000-square-foot blacktop space into a safe and environmentally-friendly recreation area that they say will be more durable. The project’s master plan also calls for a 190-by-115-foot artificial-turf field that will allow for gym classes to be held outdoors. Both surfaces would be ADA compliant, according to the presentation. The group has been working on the project since 2005.

Currently, Irving has 121 square feet of blacktop space per student, but the district average is 255, said Claudette Bravo, a project organizer. The school has the smallest amount of blacktop space of all D97 elementary schools.

In February, organizers got more than 700 signatures on a petition in support of the project, Bravo said. They’re applying for state and federal grants and will also do private fundraising to cover the $3.3 million expected cost Park board Secretary Victor Guarino said the D97 board should contact the park board, which is planning its budget in the next few months. An intergovernmental agreement could allow the two to work together on the project, said park board Vice President Christine Graves.