Illinois—With heavy hearts and a deep appreciation for the current principal and staff, Broadview Academy (BVA) alumni from throughout North America met the weekend of May 5 for their last reunion on the campus where the academy had been located since the late 1950s. Many had received word that at the February 11 constituency meeting it was voted "to begin the process of selling the La Fox campus property immediately following Constituency approval, without going to immediate listing, and to mandate that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the La Fox campus, less a small portion to be set aside for the transition of BVAnet (an initiative to provide distance learning curriculum), to be administered jointly by the K–12 board and the Executive Committee, be placed in an endowment, the earnings of which will be used for K–12 education in the Illinois Conference."

Immediately preceding the church service, current academy principal, Randall J. Siebold, and Illinois Conference treasurer, Duane Rollins, discussed the culmination of a lengthy and in-depth process of exploring options to carry forward BVAnet. The process was thorough and at times intense because of the large stakes involved. It was also swift to provide time for faculty and students to make plans for the next school year.

Rollins also announced the possibility of retaining approximately six acres of the Broadview Academy campus on Keslinger Road with the farm mansion and other buildings. "The site could be used as a small conference center and a place to display and store Broadview Academy memorabilia." Rollins cautioned that issues such as zoning, renovation costs, etc., will determine the feasibility of this idea.

Unable to attend the reunion, Kenneth A. Denslow, Illinois Conference president, communicated with members and alumni in a letter: "We must take seriously the role of Seventh-day Adventist schools in preparing our young people to be valuable citizens here and now and, most importantly, to be eternal citizens in the New Earth. The mission statement of the Illinois Conference is ‘Sharing God's grace with our world through preaching, teaching, and healing.' We still believe that our educational system must play a vital role in our plans to Touch Every 1 for Jesus. May God bless us as we move forward."

In moving forward, Denslow further stated, "We must take care of our current BVA students and strengthen our elementary schools. The BVA Board, Board of Education, and the Illinois Conference Executive Committee have taken the following actions which are meant to help us bridge from the close of this current school year to the completed sale of the La Fox property. At that time we can revise our strategy based upon what will then be known amounts of available funds being generated by the educational endowment.

1. To subsidize current BVA students from Illinois Conference families 30% of room, board, and tuition to the Seventh-day Adventist academy of their choice (30% of tuition if they choose to attend a day school).

2. To provide 5% teacher billing relief to our elementary schools beginning with the 2007–2008 school year.

3. To facilitate our schools (whose accounts are current, and who have a minimum of six distance learning students) to purchase distance learning from existing Adventist sources. The Conference will pay up to $30,000 annually per site for tech fees, hardware, and facilitator costs.

4. To hire an associate superintendent of education not to maintain what we have but to promote and market Adventist education."

Symbolizing the uplift of Christian education in their lives, Broadview Academy alumni and current students carried class banners up the center aisle to the front of the auditorium, and then gathered outside for the release of live doves.

Rachel Terwillegar, Illinois Conference assistant to the president for communication