Bensenville district seeks money to build schools

The existing schools in Bensenville Elementary District 2 - with one exception - would disappear under a proposal before voters to borrow $50 million.

Four elementary schools would be torn down in favor of two new larger grade-level centers. Blackhawk Middle School would remain but it would get millions of dollars in improvements.

A district committee reviewed the district's building needs and several years ago recommended the plan that's before voters next Tuesday. They already rejected a less-costly version once.

The district presented the same plan - but at a $40 million cost - in April 2007.

In the intervening 18 months, though, estimated prices skyrocketed as the economy came unglued, said Bill Jordan, District 2 superintendent.

And the longer the district waits to begin construction, the more the costs escalate, he said. Increases are estimated to be at least 8 and 10 percent annually, explained Jim Stelter, the district's assistant superintendent for business services.

Jordan said the school district doesn't plan to borrow all the money immediately.

"Obviously, this is a pretty poor economic environment. We wouldn't sell those right away until the economic conditions are better," he said.

What those economic conditions need to be, though, isn't as easy as saying they'll be issued when unemployment hits a certain level. Jordan said the board simply will try to gauge the financial climate and determine the right time.

State law allows districts up to five years to borrow the money once they've gotten the go-ahead from voters.

They also have the option of borrowing the money in installments.

If all $50 million were borrowed at once, the impact to the owner of a $300,000 home would be about $310 the first year. That assumes the property owner received the $5,000 homestead exemption.

It also uses an estimated tax rate for repaying the money of 31.52 cents, Stelter said.

Under the district's plan, a newly-rebuilt Johnson Elementary School would house all the district's pre-kindertarten through second-grade students. The combined Chippewa and Tioga building - also newly built - would house the districts third- through fifth-grade students.

Once the new schools were in place, the district would then demolish the old buildings - at least one of which was built in the 1930s.

It would also sell the Mohawk Elementary School site, though it's unclear for how much. Jordan said the property once was valued at $1 million, but the overall housing and construction slump likely has devalued that estimate.