Naperville chamber studies school district building plans

School construction issues dominated talks today among members of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce's legislative committee.

The panel heard from leaders of both Naperville Unit District 203 and Indian Prairie Unit District 204.

With a possible property tax increase ballot question looming this winter for District 203 voters, chamber officials are gathering information before deciding whether to endorse the request, said Ray Kinney, who heads the committee.

"I can't think of one (school referendum request) that we haven't endorsed, though," he said. "When they make a determination about when they're going to go forward, we'll form a task force."

District 203 officials are considering the Feb. 5 primary election as the time to ask for an expected $40 million tax increase to help pay for major renovations to Naperville Central High School and other projects. A recent community survey showed support for proposed renovations at the aging and crowded school.

"If we do a renovation, we definitely want to do a job that's a fix for 40 to 50 years, not just patchwork," Superintendent Alan Leis said.

Some in the audience questioned whether the February primary is the right time to ask for the tax increase and suggested the district wait until the November 2008 presidential election when more voters are likely to go to the polls.

District officials said there are pros and cons to both dates, but waiting until November could drive costs up.

Indian Prairie school board President Mark Metzger also gave an update of District 204's process for building a third high school.

The board is investigating a number of possible sites after a jury ruled the Aurora location where it wanted to build the school was going to cost roughly twice what the district expected.

Metzger said it is almost impossible to build the kind of high school the district promised voters at the site it had selected because of the land costs.

"We've been dealt a hand of cards we simply can't play," he said.

Metzger wouldn't divulge any of the sites the district is looking at now.

"The public has never had a role in selecting a school site," he said. "We don't need a repeat of the circus we saw when we redid the (high school) boundaries."

Kinney said chamber membership has a vested interest in school affairs because of the influence educational opportunities have over decisions by companies or individuals to locate here.

"Education is a key component to any community," he said. "One of the bedrocks for recruiting is the health of the school districts in a community."