For more than a decade, District 518 has worked hard to understand our facility needs, involved others to gather feedback, and prioritized building improvements that best meet our long-term needs across all district facilities.

Our high school’s facility needs were identified and proposed to voters via a bond referendum in 2016, which was not approved. Since that time, we have remained committed to tackling these needs, some of which were addressed via a bond referendum in November 2019. However, the majority of our high school’s facility needs cannot be addressed without a voter-approved bond and these facility needs have been identified for several years. In addition, we have been able to address facility needs through additional projects, including the ALC and Gymnastics Facility, the ECFE Building, and Trojan Field to name a few. 

In November 2019, District 518 district residents approved a $33 million bond referendum to build a new intermediate school, and we are grateful for our community’s support on that project. The majority of that plan addressed educational space needs for our younger learners, but similar educational needs and pressure for adequate space continue to exist at our high school as they have for several years. That referendum also provided funds to build a two-story classroom addition to the high school. As we look to the future, we are asking residents to consider a plan to continue to support our high school students well for decades to come. 

Over the past year, the district has worked to quantify and prioritize our high school’s needs by engaging staff in a number of surveys and discussions to gather feedback. Staff members agreed on three primary themes about our high school building: 1) insufficient space, 2) a need for reconfigured and more efficient space, and 3) a need to improve building flow and circulation.

Our project team includes ICS, PreK-12 planning and construction experts, and Baird, experienced funding and financial planners. Both firms have worked with our district for several years on previous successful projects. 

The district and project team completed additional assessments, including a demographics analysis, and gathered feedback from other groups to fully understand our facility needs further. These needs were discussed, quantified, and prioritized, and several facility options were developed by our project team for the school board and administration to consider. Ultimately, the school board understood the need to balance our high school facility needs and a fiscally responsible plan to district taxpayers. The school board feels confident that the proposed plan strikes that balance.

After additional consideration, school board work sessions, and gathering feedback, the school board decided to move forward with a plan that responsibly invests in the high school while minimizing the tax impact on district taxpayers. To do this, the district will utilize $11.5 million of the district’s assigned fund balance, $500,000 of the district’s existing food service fund, and $6 million of the district’s Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) funding to complete these proposed building improvements. The remaining $15.3 million will be funded by a building bond referendum for voters to consider.