District 200 to look at cost of building needs

For the past six months, Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 has been engaging hundreds of community members in creating a master plan for all 20 of our school buildings through a series of community sessions.

In September, I presented a State of Our Schools report to the community highlighting our celebrations and challenges from the prior year and the year to come, including the current conditions of our school buildings.

In December, we gave an overview of the physical and educational facility needs across the district and allowed community members to learn specific details about each school. Then, in January, we presented some conceptual diagrams of potential solutions at each school. During each of our sessions, we dedicate time to gathering feedback from participants.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, we will host our final community engagement session around master planning at Monroe Middle School. At this final session, we will review final options for a master plan and begin discussing potential costs to cover many important, needed updates.

Our schools are a reflection of the community and reflect the value our community places on education. Our community greatly values our schools and has made significant investments in them over time.

Our schools have served us well over time, but they are in need of some physical and educational repairs and updates to match the needs of 21st century learners.

It is so important for you and your neighbors get involved in the conversation on Feb. 17 about the future of our schools. The final facility master plan will be presented to the school board April 13 - you can make sure your opinion is part of that final plan.

For questions, contact communications@cusd200.org or (630) 682-2000.

• Jeff Schuler is superintendent of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200. His column runs monthly in Neighbor during the school year.