After months of discussion, school board members at Evanston Township High School will vote tonight on a proposal to create a nature center on ETHS’s campus.

Craig Smith, a science teacher at ETHS, proposed that an area behind the school’s football stadium be transformed into a nature center to give students the opportunity to get hands-on experience without having to go on a field trip.

“The students are really for it,” said Rob Gartzman, a 12th-grader at ETHS and the student representative to the school board. “It is a great idea, and it will provide opportunities for not only the science classes, but also the drawing and painting classes, and the entire community who could enjoy it.”

Margaret Lurie, school board vice president, said the final vote will come down to tonight’s presentation on the costs.

So far, the project has attracted $41,540 in grants, but the total cost is estimated at $261,000, according to Lurie.

“It has been a tight year financially, but this is a really great project,” Lurie said. “Even if we have to defer the cost by doing it in two stages, we really want this nature center to be built.”

At the meeting, the board also will hear enrollment predictions for the next decade.

Next year’s projected enrollment is 3,048 students. That number will continue to increase until the 2006-07 school year, at 3,074. It is then expected to decline.

The board also will discuss ETHS’s National Honor Society admission process. Selection is based on academic performance, community service involvement and character.

At issue is how each applicants’ character is judged. Currently, teachers determine students’ character confidentially. Students who are not accepted, or are expelled from NHS on the basis of character, are never told which teacher gave the negative reference.

“When teacher comments are kept a secret from the students, it is hard to pinpoint the problem, and there is no way to know if these accusations are true,” Gartzman said.

According to Lurie, many parents and students are concerned with this process, especially since extra-curricular involvement can play such an important role in the college admissions process.

The school board will meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at ETHS, 1600 Dodge Ave.