Where should Dist. 200 early childhood program be?
Thirteen of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200's 20 buildings were constructed between 1950 and 1970 and need a significant amount of work.
But one of those buildings is different from the rest.
Jefferson Early Childhood Center is the only one of the older buildings that hasn't received any renovations since it opened in 1958.
Now the school board is considering several options for the future of its early childhood program, which serves students ages 3 to 5, about two-thirds of whom have special needs.
The district is required by law to provide early education to the special needs students. The remaining students do not have special needs and pay tuition.
A 400-page master facilities plan presented to the board earlier this year showed Jefferson lacks a secure entry, adequately sized classrooms, offices and support spaces, and parking and storage.
Several solutions have since been presented to the board, including a renovation/addition of the existing building; constructing a new building on the existing site at 130 N. Hazleton Ave. in Wheaton, which is estimated to cost $16.3 million; or relocating the program to a new spot, either within the district or in a new building the district would acquire.
In fall 2013, voters rejected a proposed tax increase to finance the construction of a new early childhood center.
At the time, the cost was $17.6 million.
Should the board agree to go to referendum in April 2017, the question would likely ask for funding to pay not only for a Jefferson solution, but also to complete much needed work at some of the district's other schools.
On Tuesday, the district's facility committee looked at the pros and cons of different building concepts for a new learning center on the Jefferson site.
Board member Brad Paulsen, who serves on the committee with board member Jim Gambaiani, gave a brief summary of what was discussed during Wednesday's board meeting.
"We really didn't make any decisions about which one we liked," he said. "I think that's a future conversation. We didn't look at costs in great level of depth, that's coming up in August. But it was a good conversation."
The committee also discussed moving part of the program to Hubble Middle School, at a cost of about $11.4 million.
With an addition, the school could accommodate 13 of the 16 classrooms that are necessary to run the program, which currently has a capacity of 289 students.
The remaining classrooms could possibly remain at Johnson, Madison and Whittier elementary schools, where some early childhood students are already served, since Jefferson can't accommodate the whole program.
But Paulsen said he didn't like the Hubble option because it doesn't meet the district's goal of consolidating the entire early childhood program into one location. He said there also could be issues with stormwater, parking and access.
"In my opinion, it doesn't solve all of our problems," he said.
"It creates a really difficult project to do and it does have an impact on Hubble. For less cost, but still a significant investment, I don't think it's a very good solution."
Board member Jim Mathieson acknowledged the deficiencies with the Hubble plan, but said the board should keep it in mind, as it would be a savings of about $5 million.
"I think we're leaning that way (to eliminate the Hubble option), but let's keep all the options open," he said. "If we're at the table and we're teetering on $5 million, then maybe we have to consider that, but no more than any other considerations we make as well."
Board members Jim Vroman and Jim Gambaiani said they think the facilities committee doesn't have to scrap the Hubble idea, but could put it aside so it can focus on taking a look at other off-site properties that might be available.
Board member Barb Intihar agreed with Paulsen, though, saying she was ready to take Hubble off the table.
"If we're going to keep all our options open we're going to need a whole lot more discussion to come to a decision," she said.