Details of Geneva High's $82 million expansion released

Thirty more classrooms. An "auxiliary" gymnasium. Three more study halls. An 850-seat auditorium.

That's what Geneva school planners and architects believe it will take to accommodate 2,500 students at Geneva High School, the expected maximum enrollment of teenagers within district boundaries.

And getting that will cost about $82 million - which voters would have to approve.

The Geneva school board Monday received the 450-page formal proposal to expand and remodel the school.

"We have to start thinking like a big school when we consider our enrollment and our facilities," Principal Tom Rogers said.

The plan includes $73 million in building work, $7.2 million in design and construction contingency funding, and $11 million in architect and consultant fees, construction management costs and indirect costs sustained by the district.

It is part of Phase II of the district's master facilities plan, adopted in 2006. In the first phase, the district built two new elementary schools, closed one and renovated its other schools. Some of the Phase II costs were funded through the first referendum.

Board member Susan Shivers asked for more information about the proposed auditorium, including how much it would cost and how much net rental income it could bring in annually. She asked if large high schools visited by the task force for comparison had theatrical facilities nearby as Geneva does, with the Norris Center in St. Charles and Fermilab's Ramsey Auditorium in Batavia.

"I don't know what uses are being considered. I don't know why we need such a big auditorium," Shivers said. Rogers said the school's current 550-seat auditorium isn't large enough to host some events.

The next opportunity to ask voters' permission is in the spring, said Superintendent Kent Mutchler. If the board doesn't do that, it would have to wait until the 2010 elections.