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Last Monday Naperville District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis recommended to the school board an $87.7 million renovation of Naperville Central High School plus about $27 million in other improvements according to the Daily Herald. The newspaper reports that most of the recommendations follow a six-month task force’s recommendations for improvements. The high school renovation, instead of rebuilding it, also follows one majority supported position of a random phone survey (pdf) of 400 voters the district commissioned in October, where 59.1%-61.0% favored a major renovation, 61.5% a minor renovation and only 31% supported rebuilding Central High School (margin of error +/- 4.9%). The proposed renovation would require a $40-$43 million referendum - meaning about a $76/year tax increase on a $331,000 home for twenty years according to the Daily Herald ($76 is based on the $40 million referendum).

The proposal includes remodeling Central High School in its current site ($87.7 million), Mill Street Elementary School renovations and an addition ($7.3 million), building an early childhood center ($11 million), improvements at Naperville North High School ($5.2 million), and security improvements at Prairie Elementary, Ranch View Elementary and Washington Junior High School ($700,000). Three million is set aside in the proposal for “program contingencies.” The District 203 School Board will vote on the proposal December 3rd in a special meeting. You can see more detail on the proposal at this District 203 news item.