Group backs $80 million overhaul of Mundelein High
A community group has recommended a nearly $80 million expansion and improvement plan for Mundelein High School.
New classrooms, an expanded cafeteria, a new auditorium and improved music facilities were among the suggestions.
Whether the school board puts such a proposal on a future ballot is another matter.
Formed last year to help the board and administration develop a comprehensive plan, the M-PACT group gave its final recommendation to the school board Tuesday. Its name stands for Mundelein Parents and Community Together.
The report was based on studies of the school's facilities, academic and extracurricular programs and finances. The recommendations included:
• 18 new classrooms.
• 8 additional science labs.
• A new, 750-seat auditorium.
• A three-court competition-quality gymnasium.
• An expanded and renovated cafeteria.
• Improved facilities for the music, consumer and family sciences, industrial arts and computer-assisted drafting programs, among others.
New classrooms, science labs, a gym and an auditorium would require the construction of an addition to the school, co-interim Superintendent Linda Hanson said. There is no unused space that would accommodate such changes, she said.
Officials no longer are considering using the nearby Village Green Country Club, which the district owns, for a second campus, Hanson said.
Hanson praised the group for thoroughly studying all aspects of the school.
"I just can't think of any stone we left unturned," she said. "We tried to open up every aspect of our operation."
The improvements would cost an estimated $79.8 million, the M-PACT group reported. If voters were to approve a tax-rate increase to fund the entire package, that likely would result in an extra $162 in annual property taxes for the owner of a house valued at $200,000, officials said.
It's now up to the school board to decide if it wants to ask voters to approve a tax-rate increase that would fund some or all of the recommendations. The next opportunity to put a referendum question on the ballot is Nov. 4.