Dear District 200 Community,
In 2017, the District 200 Board of Education made a commitment to invest at least $7 million per year into capital facilities projects. This commitment leads to long-term cost savings by proactively addressing maintenance issues, reducing operational expenses through energy efficiency measures, and extending the lifespan of school facilities. We have met and even exceeded this commitment every year, completing much of the work needed in our elementary and high school spaces.
Now, we need to address the significant needs at three of our four middle schools: Franklin, Monroe, and Edison. These aging 1960s schools need to be modernized to provide safer and more secure buildings with learning spaces that support the rigorous curriculum our community expects and deserves.
In these three middle schools, learning spaces weren’t developed to support 21st century learning. Sight lines in some hallways are limited, making it difficult to supervise students, and camera systems and door entry systems need to be updated. The science labs are too small and outdated, music rooms don’t have enough space or sound barriers, and the locker rooms and bathrooms are original to the buildings. Out-of-date mechanical systems increase costs, create inconsistent temperatures throughout the buildings, and in some locations are so loud they disrupt learning. Some floors are so old they can no longer be waxed and are splintering. And, Monroe Middle School needs upgrades to be fully accessible for those who use walkers or wheelchairs.
Modernizing our middle schools will ensure all students in our District have the opportunity to learn in safe and healthy learning environments built to support today’s and tomorrow’s curriculum. This will help us continue to strive for excellence and inspire in everyone a passion to excel.
As a community, we worked together throughout 2023 to determine a plan for addressing the infrastructure needs at our middle schools that will put us on a sustainable path forward with safe, efficient, and up-to-date buildings.
Through a series of community engagement sessions, building tours and surveys, nearly 1,300 community members provided input and feedback on projects that should be prioritized at each building. That input was provided to the District and Board in an initial community feedback report in October 2023 and a final report in December 2023. That feedback showed an overwhelming 88% of our District residents support investing in the middle school capital improvement projects, with only 8% disagreeing.
The community reviewed an extensive list of projects and multiple options, and a consensus emerged with a majority of the community supporting a plan that addresses all needs at our middle schools, based on Option 3:
The exciting news is our District’s fiscal responsibility has given us a unique opportunity to modernize our middle schools while reducing the bond and interest portion of our tax levy. The District has been working diligently to pay off old debt. Currently, the District’s last bond and interest debt payment is scheduled for October 1, 2025. As we move toward the last debt payment, the Board has the opportunity to discuss reissuing only a portion of that debt amount, reducing the bond and interest fund tax rate while providing funding to complete the effort to update our middle schools.
As we continue these efforts through 2024, the District is actively working to finalize a middle school facilities plan to present to the Board, based on the community’s feedback. Since the release of the final community feedback report in December, the District has been working with our architects, Perkins&Will, to refine concept plans for each middle school. The concept plans will address all improvements requested by the community while working to find cost estimates lower than those the community reviewed in 2023. Recently, updated draft plans were presented to the board and can be viewed by clicking on the links below:
Middle School Capital Projects Update and Discussion (presented at the Regular Board Meeting on March 13)
Middle School Capital Projects Discussion (presented at the Committee of the Whole Board Meeting on February 28)
Draft Communications/Community Engagement Plans (presented at the Regular Board Meeting on March 13)
Now, the District is working to further refine the concept plans by engaging with a variety of staff members (teachers, support staff, administration, etc.) at the middle schools.
Then, over the summer, we will bring an updated plan to the community for review and further collaboration. As we’ve done over the past year, we want to invite the community into our buildings for tours and a review of the concept plans, drawings and estimated costs. There will be more information on these tours and engagement sessions soon, but we want to provide a few dates, times and locations now:
Monday, June 3 from 4:30-6 p.m. at Edison Middle School
Wednesday, June 5 from 4:30-6 p.m. at Franklin Middle School
Thursday, June 6 from 4:30-6 p.m. at Monroe Middle School
There will be additional tours and information sessions this fall
Together, we will finalize the plan by the end of the summer. If the Board chooses to vote on placing a referendum question on the November ballot to implement this plan, we must vote by the Regular Board Meeting in August.
We hope you will participate in this important community engagement process as we continue our positive momentum.