Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School will have a balanced budget for Fiscal 2026 as the district continues progressing through the phases of its Building Better facilities project.

The BBCHS District 307 School Board approved the Fiscal 2026 budget last week, which projects about $35,966,703 in revenue and $35,287,832 in expenditures.

That means a projected surplus of about $678,870 for the fiscal year that extends July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.

“We’re in good shape financially, very stable,” Superintendent Matt Vosberg said. “We have a balanced budget again. I think it’s a responsible budget for improving our student achievement and also balancing community resources.”

The year-end fund balance is expected to be about $27,835,405.

Ramie Kolitwenzew, chief school business official, said that $8 million from the district’s reserves will be dedicated toward its $70 million Building Better facilities project.

“We will be making that shift probably in Fiscal 2027,” Kolitwenzew said.

The remaining $62 million is slated to come from bond sale proceeds, as taxpayers approved a referendum to fund the measure in the November 2024 election.

Building Better project update

Vosberg said the district continues working with BLDD Architects through the design development phase of the project.

Design development is when the design is refined, and a more detailed site plan and floor plans are developed.

Damien Schlitt of BLDD Architects is slated to review the status of this phase during the board’s Oct. 2 operations committee meeting.

“We’re near the end of that phase,” Vosberg said.

The board voted in July to approve BLDD’s schematic designs and move into design development, the third phase of a six-phase process.

While the plans came in about $5 million over budget at the time, the designs are not finalized and still can be changed.

More precise cost estimates are still to come.

Next in the process will be the construction document phase, slated to begin in November, when legal documentation and building permits are pursued.

In December, the board’s approval will be sought to start the bidding process.

“We’ll start bidding in January, and we hope to start moving around dirt, and the facility work will start around spring break,” Vosberg said.

The entire project is estimated to be completed by the fall of 2028.

“It’s a massive undertaking,” Vosberg said. “If you recall, almost every square foot of the buildings is going to be redesigned.”

Parking lot, maintenance projects

Also during last week’s meeting, the board voted to secure bids for the paving of a new parking lot on the district-owned property on the corner of North Street and Prairie Avenue.

Kolitwenzew said the lot would help offset anticipated parking disruptions during construction of the Building Better project.

The lot would remain available for visitor use once the project is complete, she said.

The parking lot is expected to cost between $40,000 and $75,000 and provide possibly 20 to 35 spots.

Additionally, the board granted the district permission to seek bids for the replacement of roofs over the building’s south and west hallways, as well as bids for the replacement of one of its boilers.

Kolitwenzew said that replacing the hallway roofs is part of the district’s 10-year capital improvement plan and would be paid for from its current operations and maintenance budget.

The boiler was installed in 2009 and is one of two that received major repairs in 2012; they have a 15- to 20-year life cycle.

The district intends to apply for a maintenance grant to pay for the boiler replacement.