As the April election nears, many Oak Parkers have the design and construction of the new Oak Park Elementary District 97 administration building on their minds.
Oak Leaves surveyed the candidates for the four board seats with the following question: Some people have expressed a fear that the new administration building will be a costly “Taj Mahal.” How do you think District 97 can alleviate this fear?
John Abbott, 63
Occupation: Lecturer, Modern European History, University of Illinois at Chicago
Community service: Oak Park’s Transportation Commission and Longfellow Elementary School
Labeling the proposed building a “Taj Mahal” does us no favors. We need school administration, and administration needs suitable housing. Continuing to pour monies into the current building has proven penny-wise and pound-foolish. That said, I believe the current building plans are too expansive and urge revisions that would reduce square footage by 10 percent or more, thus eliminating the proposed “overhang” and allowing for a cleaner, more cost-effective design.
Sandra Arguello-Dyck, 44
Occupation: Director/ Founder of The Learning League
Community service: My life’s work is dedicated to education and child advocacy.
While teaching in Englewood, Ecuador and Oak Park, I have always volunteered time and service to support the needs of my students. I host free informative meetings for parents on current education initiatives within the state and district. I also consult with families as they make educational choices for their children. As a parent, I consistently volunteer in my son’s classrooms
It is my understanding that the board has made a conscientious and researched decision regarding the new administration building. However, I do believe the board failed to effectively communicate their decision-making process.
The board should repair this error by hosting a community forum to inform the public on the reasons behind the decisions of the new building, particularly on how it is being financed which, to my knowledge, is not being funded through referendum funds that were allocated to support education programs in District 97, but through the village of Oak Park’s Tax Increment Financing Program, or TIF, a public financing method that is set aside for redevelopment, infrastructure and other community-improvement projects.
Hueland “Rick” Boultinghouse, 46
Occupation: General manager for CenterStage Productions
Community service: Member of District 97’s Committee for Legislative Action, Intervention and Monitoring
The principal problem with the perception issue of the new administration building is that it may spoil efforts to pass a referendum in 2017. Convincing the public of legitimate financial need in the shadow of this new building will be a monumental task.Compounding this is the fact that in 2012, District 97 and the Park District asked for a 16,000-square-foot shared administration building.The current plan is for a 24,000-square-foot building, just for District 97. That disparity needs to be addressed, despite that a different metric was used to calculate area. In 2012, District 97 had a very robust campaign to garner community support.A current campaign barely exists.District 97 needs to spearhead a new, even more robust campaign to explain the differences in message over the years and to sell this to Oak Park; for the end goal is really to sell a referendum in 2017.
Marcus Croom, 37
Occupation: Research assistant at University of Illinois at Chicago
Community service: UIC College of Education Pre-college Leadership & Impact Program; UIC search committees; regular Irving Elementary School parent volunteer
District 97 can alleviate this fear by more transparent, effective communication practices. Public forums are great, but what else can be done to inform voters about how the building came about, what is being decided now and why? If elected, I’ll bring experience with making complex matters clear.
A. Rupa Datta-Nemana, 45
Occupation: Education policy researcher
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Community service: Beye PTO Co-Volunteer of the Year 2013-2014; District 97 Committee on Legislative Action, Intervention and Monitoring (CLAIM), Data subcommittee chair; District 97 Committee on Dashboards and Benchmarks, Chair; OPRF Collaboration for Early Childhood Measurement & Evaluation Committee
Throughout the design and construction process, we should ask the same two questions that apply for any initiative: How does this support high-quality instruction for students? What else could be done with the resources (money, time, effort, etc.) that would be needed for this initiative? And would those alternative uses better support student learning? In addition, transparency in decision-making and openness to community input are powerful tools in building trust and alleviating fear.
Rita Kahn, 42
Occupation: Development coordinator, Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry
Community service: Volunteer at Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry; volunteer and “Golden Sneaker Award”winner for fundraising efforts for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; school volunteer,Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support Team and Art Appreciation
While I support the decision to pursue a new administration building, I believe the concerns expressed by the community about the potential costs of the new administration building have been a healthy part of the decision-making process. The new building has been discussed at two recent District 97 meetings, and current board members clearly recognize that fiscal responsibility is a top priority for the community. To alleviate concerns that the new building will be a costly “Taj Mahal,” District 97 must maintain transparency on all decisions and timelines regarding the new building. Increasing community awareness of benefits is also critical. Key points regarding benefits should include: the new building will be green and less costly to maintain, will provide additional resources commensurate with a high performing school district, and finally it will provide an environment more conducive to the sharing of ideas and best practices thus promoting district unity.
Jim O’Connor, 42
Occupation: Project director at Advance Illinois
Community service: Incumbent. District 97 Finance Oversight and Review Committee, Committee for Legislative Action Intervention and Monitoring, and the Ad Hoc Dashboard/Benchmark Board Committee.Member of Data Team that is part of Success of All Youth at the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation.AYSO assistant coach.
I will continue to absolutely fight anything that is even remotely excessive and advocate for a wise use of taxpayer funds with a long-term view.To make the necessary repairs to bring the current building at 970 W. Madison up to code and ADA accessible would cost $2 million to $2.5 million.Rather than spending money to repair our current building, which has become a financial sinkhole, those tax dollars are better spent towards a new administration building that will last us for at least the next 50 years. By relocating our maintenance operations to a no-cost sharing arrangement with the village on South Boulevard as part of the project, we are saving the district $800,000. This collaboration was a solid decision by the district from a financial stewardship and long-term best-use-of-funds standpoint.We need to continue to collaborate with other taxing bodies to keep our taxes reasonable.
Jay Schulman, 39
Occupation: Technology and security consultant
Community service: Previous service on a number of nonprofit boards and auxiliary boards as well as volunteered through a number of different organizations
The design of the administration building has not been finalized, but the drawings I have seen are not a Taj Mahal.We need an administration building that will last the next 50 years. I would recommend building the ‘right’ building today rather than needing an addition or remodel in 10 years.
The building should not only serve the administration and the school district but serve the community. The first floor of the new administration building will be filled with conference rooms designed for community organizations to use.Teachers, community groups and others can utilize the administration building’s space in a way that isn’t possible today.It’s also a versatile space what is the print shop today can be a computer room tomorrow.
We haven’t seen much community engagement on the administration building to date.I would encourage the community to see the drawings, provide feedback and help make the building not only for the administration but the community.
Robert “Bob” Spatz, 51
Occupation: IT and Data Professional
Community service: Incumbent. More than 20 years of involvement in the community, including Project Unity, Oak Park Education Foundation, Middle Level Education committees, the creation and expansion of the Collaboration for Early Childhood, and two terms on the District 97 Board, the last two years serving as president
The board needs to continue its transparent process and communicate regularly about the building. As the board has publicly committed, cost-effectiveness and long-term operating cost efficiencies are primary goals of this project. As the plans move from concept to design to bid documents, the choices made for long-term cost effectiveness and long-term operating cost efficiency will be clear. The new building, unlike the current building, will have a roof that won’t leak for decades, have an energy efficient and reliable HVAC system, meet current ADA standards, and have more windows, appropriate electrical and networking, and more efficient filing areas than are common in modern office spaces to increase staff productivity. Overall, I am convinced that the administration building and sharing space in the Public Works Building represent a fiscally sound investment and that the district needs to continue to seek public input and communicate regularly about the project.
Holly Spurlock, 38
Occupation: Director of risk management at Groupon and former lawyer
Community service: Pro bono representation of numerous individual clients as well as an organization aspiring to replicate the Harlem Children’s Promise Zone in Chicago; part of a team working on the CARE initiative to reduce violence in Chicago; and Big Sisters
District 97 can alleviate this fear through thoughtful and data-driven decision-making and a detailed, proactive approach to communication.I am supportive of the new administration building, and I believe it was the right decision from a cost/benefit perspective and because it is supportive of the District 97 mission to provide the highest level of education to our students.As we undertake the planning and building of the facility, many choices will be presented to the board, some that will come at a cost, others that will not and some that will be obvious benefits and others that will not.
The key to managing this project will be transparency in the choices, exhaustive information gathering and robust discussion in advance of decisions.Once decisions are made, those decisions should be communicated, proactively and completely, so that observers have an understanding of how they were reached.Diligence to this process will alleviate fears of overspending and potentially useless add-ons becoming part of the building.
Rebecca R. Bibbs is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.