District 200 takes steps to prepare for possible spring referendum
The Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board has received a preliminary timeline for informing the community about a referendum question, should members agree to put one on the ballot next spring.
Board member Barb Intihar, who serves on the district's community engagement committee with board member Joann Coghill, presented the plan to the board Wednesday.
"I just felt as we're getting closer and we keep talking about the need for a community question that we should have something like this to look at," she said, noting that the committee finalized the draft timeline Tuesday.
Putting a referendum question on the ballot for the April 4, 2017, general election is one of four funding options the board has to pay for improvements to the district's buildings. Other options, which are not mutually exclusive, include using money the district already has, using future operating and maintenance dollars, and issuing non-referendum bonds.
In the coming months, the board will continue to prioritize improvements listed in a recently completed, more than 400-page master facility plan, which laid out work that could be done at all the district's buildings.
Cost estimates for some of the schools that need the most work, including three middle schools, Sandburg Elementary and Jefferson Early Childhood Center, will be presented at the July 13 board meeting. An overall total project cost estimate is scheduled to be ready by August.
In September, the board will receive a financing recommendation. Should the referendum option still be on the table, community engagement sessions may be scheduled from October to December to inform residents about the overall project focus, and a community survey to gather residents' opinions may be distributed in November, after the presidential election.
According to the timeline, the board will need to vote on whether to put a referendum question on the ballot by its Jan. 11, 2017, meeting. If approved, a community letter will be delivered later that month, informing residents about the board's decision.
"I want to thank the committee because I think this is critical," board member Brad Paulsen said. "This is all about getting the board in the position in December and January that we can make a decision."
But board member Jim Gambaiani expressed surprise when presented with the community engagement timeline.
"To me this is very premature," he said. "I think this is very dangerous in that we are at the infancy of this whole project."
Superintendent Jeff Schuler said the timeline is just an attempt to map out "a potential sequence to get to one outcome."
"It will ultimately be the board's decision ... as to whether we get to that outcome," he said.
Intihar added that the timeline gives the district staff some warning of what might be coming.
"There's a lot of decision points in here, but at any point we can say OK, we're not going to do this work, we're only going to do what we can do without going to referendum," she said. "I'd rather see, and I know the staff would rather see, here's the potential work we're going to do."