District 214’s $295 million referendum: What’s on the Nov. 3 ballot
On Aug. 6, the District 214 Board of Education voted to place a $295 million bond question on the Nov. 3 ballot. It is the district’s first referendum since 1971. I want to explain what the question asks, how it got here and where to find the facts, because the decision belongs to the community and the district’s job between now and Election Day is to provide information.
Our seven buildings opened between 1957 and 1973. They have been repaired, added to, and re-roofed for decades. Since 1985, the district’s Capital Projects Program has funded prioritized work every year, and over the past 10 years, that program has spent nearly $200 million on roofs, mechanical equipment, safety improvements, and maintenance, all from existing funds.
We will continue to invest $100 million over the next 10 years. We have not placed a referendum question on the ballot in 55 years.
Beginning in 2022, after a change in operations staff leadership, outside architectural and engineering firms assessed every major system in all seven of our buildings. They found no building in poor condition. They also found nearly 1,400 building assets due for replacement within 10 years: heating plants past their design life, electrical systems original to the buildings, fire alarm and door hardware that predate current safety and accessibility standards, and science labs and theaters largely unchanged since the buildings opened.
The annual program replaces systems one at a time as the budget allows. It cannot address the full list at every campus at once: 13 project types across seven buildings and nearly 1,400 assets due for replacement within 10 years. That is the line between the work we do every year and the question on the ballot.
We began asking residents for their thoughts on the facility improvement plan options in September 2025. More than 4,500 responses came in over three phases. Residents told us they value the schools. They also told us the early concepts were too large and costly, that they wanted clearer priorities and that they wanted to see the buildings. We slowed the process, published our criteria, deferred projects and reduced the scope by nearly two-thirds.
If voters approve the question, the bonds would fund work in four categories at all seven buildings: safety and security, infrastructure, mechanical systems and instructional spaces.
Each school’s list differs because the buildings are not in the same condition. The estimated cost for a home with a market value of $396,500 is about $14 per month, assuming a 25-year repayment schedule. The final schedule is set when the bonds are sold.
Every building is open for a walk-through this fall: eight information sessions from Sept. 14 through Oct. 24, led by the maintenance staff who keep these buildings running. Every session is open to every resident. The schedule, the list for each school, an estimate of your home’s annual and monthly tax impact and the full ballot language are at renew214.org.
I am not writing to tell you how to vote. I am writing to ask you to look. Go inside the buildings.
See for yourself. Then decide.
• Scott Rowe, Ed.D., is the superintendent of High School District 214.