On March 19, 2002, a referendum was held, and Wilmette residents vote in favor of granting the Park District the authority to issue up to $25 million in bonds in order to purchase, improve, and maintain the Mallinckrodt College property. The village ultimately acquired the property for $20 million in September of that year. In May 2003 the Illinois Department of Natural Resources awarded the Park District a $2 million grant through the Open Land Trust program in order to preserve 5.22 acres of the property. In July 2004 a sales agreement was reached in which the Park District transferred ownership of the building to the Village of Wilmette. The village would then aim to sell the structure to a developer that would convert it into condos for senior citizens. Under the sale agreement with the developer, the Park District has retained a 7,000 square foot space on the ground floor of the building's south wing of the building, which they operate as a community recreation space named The Mallinckrodt Center. The Mallinckrodt Center contains the new home of the Meskill Senior Center. Village government Wilmette is governed by a village board composed of six trustees and a president. Trustees serve staggered, four-year terms and are elected at large. The Village operates under the Council-Manager form of government. The Village Manager is Michael Braiman. In 2004, Wilmette was one of the first localities in Illinois to enact a ban on smoking in all public spaces, including bars and restaurants. Also that year, the village government prosecuted local resident Hale DeMar, age 59, for violating the town's handgun ban when he shot a burglar inside his house. The handgun ban was enacted in direct response to an incident in 1988 when Laurie Dann opened fire on a classroom full of children in neighboring Winnetka. However, it was repealed in 2008 after the U.S Supreme Court struck down a similar ban in Washington, D.C. Education For grade school education, Wilmette is served by Wilmette Public Schools District 39 which includes elementary schools (grades K–4) Central, Harper, McKenzie, and Romona, Highcrest Middle School (grades 5 & 6), and Wilmette Junior High School (grades 7 & 8). Marie Murphy School, also located in Wilmette, is part of Avoca School District 37. It has the longest school day in the state of Illinois. There are also several parochial elementary schools in the area, including St.