College of DuPage drops lease with Indian Prairie

Since 2006, the College of DuPage has leased space from Indian Prairie School District 204 at the district’s Frontier Campus in Naperville, where high school seniors can take college level classes.

But COD officials say the rental rates previously agreed to — between $36,000 and $40,000 a month — aren’t favorable to the college in the current market.

So the college’s board of trustees voted Thursday to terminate a 10-year agreement with the school district for sublease of the facility, located at 2244 W. 95th St. next to Neuqua Valley High School.

However, COD professors will continue to teach dual-credit courses there since District 204 will allow the college to rent classroom space at lower rates, according to Tom Glaser, the college’s senior vice president.

Exiting the existing lease was a formality, he said.

In the current fiscal year, COD is paying $368,328 per year for use of the space. That number was expected to go up in the next four years, per terms of the agreement.

COD officials expect a savings of about $300,000 annually by exiting the lease.

“We can provide the same classes and services at much cheaper rates by simply renting available rooms” from the school district, college officials wrote in a memo to the board.

However, the college will have to pay a $50,000 early termination fee.

And in 2006, COD paid a one-time fee of $743,460 for the college’s share of construction costs and office and classroom furniture. The college will forfeit any remaining value of improvements, fixtures and furniture as part of the early termination, according to the agreement.

Though Indian Prairie officials did not respond to requests for comment, Glaser said “they’ve been fully on board” with the lease cancellation.