Algonquin-based Community School District 300 is considering placing a referendum question on the November election ballot asking voters to consider additional funding to update district facilities.
Called Together for Tomorrow, District 300’s long-term master facility plan was created in 2024 with the help of the community, staff and families. The plan calls for major capital upgrades to prepare for a growing student population and aging infrastructure.
A community engagement team formed in October, hosting two surveys, four workshops and multiple open houses that gathered input from hundreds of people on the facility plan. The team presented its final report and recommendation to the school board on May 19.
“This process was truly a community-led experience,” said Bill Doran, who is part of the district’s Together for Tomorrow Community Engagement Team.
The team identified challenges it says the district is facing because of a growing student population, aging buildings and education changes that need to be addressed outside of the annual budget for facility and grounds maintenance.
The district budgets about $18 million each year for basic building maintenance, Together for Tomorrow co-chair Phil Zilinski said in a presentation to the board. But the master facility plan identified the possibility of needing updates that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The main takeaway is that District 300 is financially stable,” Zilinski said. “But major capital projects require strategic decisions because regular maintenance funding is limited and costs continue to rise.”
District 300 is the sixth-largest school district in the state, with 28 schools, more than 20,000 students and approximately 2,500 staff members. An estimated 4,000 more students are projected to be enrolled in the district within 10 years, according to a Together for Tomorrow presentation.
“That growth matters because many schools are already feeling pressure,” Zilinski said. “Nearly a third of District 300’s schools are at or near capacity. And nearly half of the district’s schools are older than the national average of 49 years.”
Additional funding could come from using cash or borrowing. The community team put together three options that vary in taxpayer impact.
Option 1 looks at implementing all projects, from immediate to long-term, identified in the master facility plan. Doing so would cost an estimated $539 million and have a taxpayer impact of $219 a year or $18 a month for an owner of a $400,000 home, according to district information.
The second option looks at compromising by addressing immediate and “near-term” needs. The team estimates this has a total cost of $455 million, and would cost $116 a year or about $10 a month for an owner of a $400,000 home.
“This option shows the tradeoff between making significant progress and leaving some needs for later,” Together for Tomorrow co-chair Stacy Rapach said.
The final option would have no impact on taxpayers now. Costing an estimated $256 million, it would only fund projects that immediately need to be addressed.
Ultimately, the team recommended that the board move forward with a ballot question to consider additional funding.
School board members are expected to decide in August whether they will put a ballot question to voters in November. If the district moves forward, the exact language and the funding amount requested also will be decided, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Chief Anthony McGinn said.
This month, the board will receive further details on specific projects within the plan and available funding options. Survey results from the community outreach team will be posted on the district’s website next month, McGinn said.
Further details on past community workshops and the Together for Tomorrow Community Engagement Team’s presentation to the board can be found here: app.smore.com/n/cdpsk.