Dist. 200 breaks ground for Hubble

Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200's leaders, teachers, students and residents gathered at the future Hubble Middle School site in Warrenville to celebrate a community groundbreaking ceremony Sunday afternoon.

Although construction began April 7, Sunday was the official groundbreaking, as district leaders had a blast digging into a small grassy area and moving around some dirt while dressed in formal suits.

District 200 Superintendent Richard Drury said everyone's been waiting for the groundbreaking for a very long time, and some even wondered if it would ever really happen.

"It's going to be a beautiful school, it's a wonderful site and it's been a long time coming," Drury said. "It's a great opportunity for all the students in District 200."

For more than four years, residents and district leaders vigorously debated as to whether the current Hubble Middle School, at Roosevelt Road and Main Street in Wheaton, should be renovated or if an entirely new school should be built.

While many thought it would be smarter to renovate the current building, which is more than 80 years old, many school board members didn't want to keep putting money into a building that was already at the end of its life span.

Finally, in February voters gave the district the OK to proceed with a new Hubble Middle School along Herrick Road, between Butterfield and Warrenville roads.

"I think now is the time for the community to unify behind the district so we can work on what's best," Drury said Sunday. "Now it's time for us to pull together."

About 100 people gathered at the new site for the Sunday ceremony.

The new, 190,000-square-foot facility will house up to 1,087 students and is expected to be completed by August 2009. The $58 million project will be paid back over 14 years.

And the eventual sale of the current Hubble site in Wheaton, when the school moves to Warrenville, is expected to help pay off a good chunk of the costs of the new school.

District 200 President Andrew Johnson said the school's move also is an excellent opportunity for the city of Wheaton as they figure out what can go on the original Hubble Middle School site.

"It's a win-win situation," he said.

Hubble Middle School Principal Beth Sullivan was excited Sunday.

"It's a very exciting time for the school district," she said. "Many of the people that are here have worked exceedingly hard."

Betsy Regenfuss, Hubble math and science teacher who attended the school when she was a teen, is looking forward to the new environmentally friendly school.

"I actually went to the old Hubble School, so I love that building," she said. "But I'm really excited about this building, too."