Members of the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board will wait until vote totals are certified before deciding how to address the results of a ballot question that asked voter approval for a plan that would replace swimming pools and address facilities at the school.
The board postponed a discussion scheduled during its regular board meeting Nov. 17 to determine the district’s next steps after the preliminary results of a Nov. 8 referendum question to borrow $25 million for facilities upgrades appeared to fail. The latest vote totals, which were last updated Nov. 14, according to Frank Herrera, spokesman for the Cook County Clerk’s office, showed 17,692 voters supported it and 17,760 were against it.
The clerk’s office will certify the final vote count on Nov. 22, a number that will include the mail-in ballots that sometimes trickle in during the two-week allotted period for counting votes after Election Day, Herrera said. After the votes from all 45 precincts are certified two weeks after Election Day, there will be another 30-day window before the clerk’s office officially will call the election, Herrera said.
The ballot measure asked for voter approval for the school to borrow $25 million to use toward the total $44.5 million price tag for a project to replace two 88-year-old pools and build new classrooms and modern spaces for performing arts programs.
The tight vote margin is giving hope to supporters such as Lynne Kamenitsa of the Vote Yes D200 Referendum Committee. While urging the school board not to be intimidated by the results when she spoke to board members during the Nov. 17 meeting, Kamenitsa said many taxpayers were misinformed on what the referendum was actually requesting.
“The fact that the referendum was essentially a tie means there is a lot of support out there, but it was a steep climb to get approval because it was such a complex plan for people to understand,” Kamenitsa said. “If the board decides to take a new plan to referendum, I fully expect similar efforts to confuse the public, so the district will have to work even harder during a new planning process.”
The prospect that the ballot question could fail pleased Oak Park resident Jim Farrell, who told board members they should use their reserve cash before “spending money they don’t have.”
“Schools should spend their money on academics. Realize you’re not just competing with schools down the street like New Trier or Evanston, but with academic programs around the world,” Farrell said. “[The referendum] asked for a lot of money for something to benefit very few people, and it seemed totally irresponsible and greedy and showed no concern for the taxpayers.”
The board plans to discuss the final vote total and determine the next steps for facilities planning during the Dec. 22 school board meeting.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.