Mum heartbroken after school cut down memorial tree for dead daughter

A mum has been left devastated after the memorial tree planted for her daughter who died from cancer was cut down without her knowledge.

Lee Ann Meiborg was driving to West Chicago Community High School to visit the tree planted in her daughter's name when she discovered it had been cut down by the school.

Amanda, Lee Ann's daughter, passed away in 2003 after battling cancer for 18 months, just a year after she graduated from the school with top marks.

The young woman was commemorated with the planting of a small tree the following year, which has flourished in the years since her death and serves as her only physical memorial, as Amanda was cremated.

Her friends and family regularly visit and tend to the tree, an autumn blaze maple, yet no one was notified of the school's plans to remove it.

Lee Ann didn't find out until she arrived at the school and saw the tree missing, telling WLS; "It’s another part of Amanda who’s gone now from our lives."

"I was going to get the tree ready for spring, and I pulled down the street and saw the tree was gone, and I just stopped the car, and then I finally pulled over and started crying."

She reached out to the school in hopes of receiving an explanation, however she received no apology or details about why the tree was removed.

It was only later when WLS pressed for comment that the school released a dismissive statement about the decision, revealing just why the tree had been cut down.

"The trees and vegetation along the west side were removed to accommodate construction crews," the statement read.

The school added that no area on the campus was "exempt from modification" as they work to expand the school.

However knowing that her daughter's tree was cut down for construction crews only added insult to injury for Lee Ann, who plans to erect a new memorial to her daughter away from the school.

School board President Renee Yackley said that the issue was handled "insensitively" and reached out to Lee Ann to apologise for the school's oversight.

The school board is reassessing how memorials like Amanda's will be handled in future, and are considering memorial scholarships moving forward.