GLEN ELLYN – Just in time for the start of the school year, Churchill Elementary School now has a secure entry and renovated library media center as a result of a $24.2 million bond referendum residents approved in April 2017.

Churchill students joined Glen Ellyn School District 41 Superintendent Paul Gordon on Aug. 27 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the first project funded by the referendum. Churchill is the last school in the district to have a secure entry.

Aug. 29 was the first day of school for District 41 students. Visitors are now required to enter the main office, where they must show an identification card that is run through a background check. In the past, visitors would enter the school's hallway after being buzzed in.

"The secure entry point was a priority for the previous board and the current board to ensure that all of our students were safe and that we had that safe and secure entry point," Gordon said. "We know who is in our buildings at all times. It's just one more level of security."

Other improvements at the Glen Ellyn school include new handicapped-accessible bathrooms and new flooring through the main portion of the school.

Work also has started on a two-story addition that will replace the 10 portable classrooms at Hadley Junior High School and include a new music space, which is another project being funded through the referendum. The referendum also is paying for infrastructure and roofing improvements at Hadley, as well as a bus lane on district property designed to reduce traffic congestion in the neighborhood.

"I'm so proud of the work that has been done here at Churchill and at Hadley," Gordon said. "Kids should be in environments like this."

The referendum also funded new playgrounds at Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln elementary schools.

Board of Education President Stephanie Clark said she also is pleased with the improvements being made because of the referendum.

The new addition at Hadley is set to open in fall 2019.

"I think we're all pretty proud that we were able to get the community to support it," Clark said. "We couldn't have done it without the community passing the referendum. We're proud that we were able to put a plan together that the community supported."

Those comments were echoed by Lori Taylor, co-chairwoman of the district's Facilities Task Force.

"I'm very proud of our community for coming together and making this happen," Taylor said, after taking a look at the new improvements. "I'm just happy that we finally got it done. It's always good to see people coming together and getting things done for our children."