Dear Community Unit District 200 community members,
The Community Unit School District 200 Board of Education voted last night to proceed with a referendum seeking voter approval to address significant infrastructure needs at three of our middle schools: Franklin, Monroe, and Edison.
The community’s plan will now appear on our ballots in the November 5th election for final approval. This $151.5 million referendum would result in an average tax decrease of $71 per year in the bond and interest fund for the average district homeowner!
If approved by the community, this plan would:
Improve Safety & Security in Our Middle Schools
Ensure Healthy & Accessible Buildings for All Students
Provide Our Middle Schoolers 21st Century Learning Environments
And because of our district’s fiscal responsibility, we have a unique opportunity to implement the community’s plan to modernize our middle schools while giving our taxpayers even more property tax relief. As the district has diligently paid off old debt, we are able to re-issue a portion of that debt amount to complete the effort to update our middle schools while letting the remainder fall off, reducing the Bond and Interest Fund tax rate for our residents. In addition, the district will be paying these bonds off in just 15 years, saving our taxpayers up to $85 million in interest compared to longer financing options.
The referendum will improve safety & security in Franklin, Monroe, and Edison Middle Schools. This will ensure a more secure environment for students and teachers including improved sight lines in hallways, upgraded camera systems, and updated door entry systems.
The referendum will significantly improve our middle school infrastructure, mechanicals, and accessibility. This includes safer, updated, and more energy efficient school buildings through investments in infrastructure and mechanicals, including roofing, electrical systems, fire alarm systems, plumbing, HVAC units, lighting, ceilings, flooring, and finishings. It also includes more accessible buildings to increase ADA compliance and improve safety for students.
The referendum will also improve learning environments for our middle schoolers, better supporting today’s and tomorrow’s curriculum, optimizing hands-on learning, and further improving student outcomes. This includes modernized science lab classrooms with more space and improved features and furniture. It also includes increased space in some classrooms that are too small as well as optimized and dedicated spaces for co-curricular classes such as STEM and elective courses. It optimizes special education spaces to provide more support and life skill instruction for students. And it renovates and improves music spaces, library learning centers, indoor athletic spaces, and student wellness spaces.
This community-driven plan to modernize our middle schools would provide safer and more secure buildings with learning spaces that support the rigorous curriculum our community expects and deserves. It would build pride in our middle school buildings. It would bring parity to our four middle schools, giving all students the same quality learning opportunities. It could also provide welcoming spaces for the community. And all this can be accomplished without a tax increase—in fact, with a reduction in our Bond and Interest Fund tax rate, for the third time in five years.
We look forward to discussing this plan further with you over the next several months.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jeff Schuler
District 200 Superintendent of Schools