Voters weigh options on Hubble move

As the most contentious issue in the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 community heads to a vote, constituents dissected the impact to their pocket books and children Tuesday night.

The Wheaton League of Women Voters hosted a community forum on moving Hubble Middle School. The question will appear on ballots Feb. 5. It will ask voters for $58 million and permission to build a new Hubble in Warrenville. The district plans to sell the current school in Wheaton as part of the deal.

Anonymous questions from the audience showed the public still grappling with the costs of the plan.

In particular, questions centered on how the price to move the school escalated during the past few years, and why now is a good time to raise taxes.

School Board President Andy Johnson explained the costs increased by about $30 million in five years because the original plan called for a smaller school than the current vision. Construction prices also skyrocketed during that time.

"Until you get into the real details, the real nuts and bolts of any project, you won't have the final numbers," Johnson said. "So we can talk all we want about what the numbers were five years ago, two years ago, four years ago, the number we have right now is $58 million to build this new middle school."

Johnson emphasized the new school will include long-term cost savings in energy efficiency and be more handicapped accessible. Johnson recognized there will be additional costs beyond the $58 million to move the school and address the loss of open space caused by selling the current Hubble land.

Mark Stern from the community group Educate 200 provided the opposing view on the panel.

"The issue is what is the most cost-effective way to give Hubble students the same education that students are getting everywhere else in the community," Stern said.

Stern said moving the school will eliminate open space in Wheaton that will never return and handcuff the district's ability to accommodate future growth or program changes. He favors remodeling the current school.

After the forum, Johnson said voters worried about tax increases should not fear an education fund referendum in the near future for general expenses. Johnson said no such tax increase question is forthcoming.

The school board will now address one of the last remaining unknown aspects of the Hubble move. District staff will present recommendations for changing attendance boundaries to coincide with the Hubble move at the next school board meeting.