Voters OK new Hubble school by big tally
Warrenville will once again have a middle school as Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 voters approved a $58 million tax increase Tuesday night.
The money will buy land and a pay for the construction of a new Hubble Middle School on a 19-acre swath of land, located near Galusha and Herrick roads in Warrenville.
Voters checked "yes" often enough for the proposed tax increase to appear a lock all night long.
Unofficial results showed a margin of victory of about 15 percentage points with all 79 precincts reporting. Voters checked "yes" a total of 14,730 times compared to 10,728 "no" votes.
The referendum result validates the outcome of the school board election last April. That vote saw all three incumbents re-elected by solid margins, while campaigning on moving Hubble to Warrenville.
The result also concludes more than five years of community debate, environmental studies and divisiveness in the District 200 community.
"The first step is moving some dirt and getting the new building going," said school board President Andy Johnson. "The next step is getting together with the city council and park board to get more of a direction that a developer would be given as part of a bid or auction on the current site."
The school board already committed to selling the site. After years of staying neutral and mostly silent on the issue, the Wheaton City Council now has the green light to get involved in the sale and redevelopment of the school.
Several aspects of the community recently brainstormed ideas that showed a mixed-use development of retail, offices and light residential would be most popular.
The city would most benefit from a redevelopment that would funnel new sales tax dollars into the municipal coffers. The city likely is facing a deficit budget, deep cuts or a tax increase of some form as it heads into its new fiscal year in a few months.
For its part, the school district will look to get the highest price it can for the Wheaton Hubble property.
The existing school building is expected to detract from the value as a developer likely will have to pay to tear the school down. Whatever profits result will pay down the district's highest interest bonds.
The new school is slated to open in fall of 2009. A renovation, rebuilding or remodeling of Jefferson Preschool will be the next task on the school board's to-do list.