Oakton board to OK master plan for Des Plaines campus
The Oakton Community College Board is considering a facilities master plan that includes $68.5 million in new construction and renovation projects at the Des Plaines campus that would require taking on more debt and raising student fees.
The plan, which the board will review at its meeting Tuesday, calls for constructing a new $39 million science and health career building, upgrades to roughly 45 classrooms, renovating the college's enrollment center and building a new student gathering center.
The plan also includes infrastructure and remodeling work throughout campus, such as updating toilets and gym locker rooms, and providing cell phone/Internet access in all public areas.
Per the college administration's recommendation, the master plan improvements would largely be financed through $40 million in bonds and $20 million in reserve funds. The remainder would be covered through student reserves and increased fees, as well as federal, state and private grants.
College board Chairman George Alexopoulos said he is not comfortable with the college spending so much money during lean economic times, and will not support raising student fees.
“The recommendation is that tuition would go up $2 an hour, which I am not in favor of because the students right now are paying a lot of money in terms of text books,” Alexopoulos said. “The times are pretty rough right now and the picture that we may project to the public may not be as appealing at any other given time. I am concerned about the image of the college in terms of the expenditures.”
Alexopoulos said the projects identified in the master plan need to be prioritized based on what's most needed, how long it will take to complete them and what the college gets out of it.
“My concern is the appropriateness of the whole thing being done at the same time and spending all that money,” he said. “My question is do we need all of it.”
Formerly a mathematics and physics teacher, Alexopoulos is partial to getting the new science building and expanded laboratories completed first.
“Some physics labs, for example, the equipment is pretty old,” he said. “This is priority one. The need according to national standards is in mathematics and sciences.”
Financing for the master plan, and whether the college can really afford the expenditure, will be part of closed and open session discussions Tuesday.
The college has the lowest tax rate in the state among Illinois community colleges, but the potential bond issue would raise the rate 7 percent. The owner of a $257,500 home currently paying $154 would pay an additional $11 in taxes yearly, according to the college.
The closed session portion of the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in Room 1502 of the Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road. The board will continue its discussion of the master plan during its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. in board room 1506.