Dist. 200 board commits to selling Hubble
All the official votes surrounding the creation of a Feb. 5 Hubble Middle School referendum seemed like a mere formality Wednesday night, except for one.
Committing to sell the current Hubble Middle School property in Wheaton always seemed like it would happen, yet the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board never quite got around to doing it.
Board members, individually, occasionally spoke about how money from the sale of the current Hubble could help pay for a new school in Warrenville. Yet there still seemed to be some hesitancy.
Indeed, there were many dreams of transforming the current Hubble into an answer for other educational desires. A magnet school, a performing arts center, an all-day kindergarten building, or new Jefferson preschool, even a district-wide swimming center were all ideas at one time or another.
"Although people very much liked those ideas, they didn't like them enough to pay for them," board member Rosemary Swanson said.
The idea that ultimately took root Wednesday was dreams of more money. Board members said the ability to put the current site back on the tax roll would be best for the future of the district.
After recognizing the initial hesitancy, school board members voted 6-0 to sell the current Hubble if the Feb. 5 referendum to build a new school passes.
"I had some reluctance," board member John Bomher said just before the vote "This is a very big decision. Once that land is sold and we don't control it, it's gone forever, probably."
Marie Slater was absent, but sent a letter stating that she also would've voted to sell the school.
In a somewhat unusual move, Wheaton Mayor Mike Gresk urged the school board at the beginning of the meeting to sell the current Hubble site. The city will ultimately oversee any redevelopment. It also stands to gain the most in both property and sales taxes created by what will likely be a mix of retail and commercial uses at the site.
The referendum is now officially on the ballot. The decision about how to pay off the $58 million debt has been made. The current property will be sold. All that's left is the promoting and the voting.