Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 is hosting a series of informational meetings this month about the $49 million facilities referendum planned for the April 4 ballot.
District officials said the referendum is necessary to address aging infrastructure, safety and security issues throughout the district in addition to needed classroom space at Aptakisic Junior High School.
In-person meetings are planned for Feb. 15 at Aptakisic Junior High School, Feb. 16 at Pritchett School and Feb. 23 at Tripp School. Two virtual meetings on the Zoom video conferencing platform are also planned for Feb. 22, according to information provided by the district.
“Shall the Board of Education of Aptakisic-Tripp Community Consolidated School District Number 102, Lake County, Illinois, alter, repair, and equip the District’s school buildings and district office and improve the sites thereof, including installing safety and security upgrades, replacing boilers and heating/cooling systems to improve indoor air quality and temperature control, replacing roofs and windows, renovating instructional spaces, adding science classrooms, STEM labs, and a gymnasium to the junior high school and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of $49,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?” is the ballot question voters will be asked to respond “yes” or “no” to in the April 4 election.
If approved, residents with the SD102 boundaries with a home valued at $375,000 will pay $39 more each month for 20 years as part of the $49 million asked on the referendum. Those with a home valued at $500,000 home will pay $53 more for 20 years, and property taxes would increase $78 on a home valued at $725,000, according to district estimates.
The last time the district had a referendum was 1993.
District officials report that $32.6 million of the referendum funds will be used for infrastructure maintenance while $16.4 million will be used to address overcrowding at the junior high school, as well as enhance learning environments and healthy and safety upgrades at all of the buildings.
The Buffalo Grove-based school district enrolls about 2,500 students — from pre-K to eighth grade — across four schools.
According to the SD102 website, the planned upgrades include the replacement of aging roofs and windows, improving indoor air quality with updated heating, cooling, and ventilation, renovating a portion of the district office to create science labs and new classroom spaces as well as building an additional gym at Aptakisic Junior High School, plus installing internal cameras and new phone systems.
Other anticipated upgrades include repairing and updating restrooms and updating electrical and mechanical systems.
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These upgrades are considered Phase 2 of the district’s facilities plan. According to the
district, $28 million in construction of needed space was completed in Phase 1 of the project in 2016 without additional financial impact for taxpayers.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.