While I haven’t written about it - I’ve looked into the District 203 referendum and spoken to people outside the process who ought to know (including former school board candidates). The candidates have suggested that some sort of renovation has to take place at Naperville Central High School - a position I also take. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I’ll point you to a source that makes a detailed argument for the referendum.
Beyond that argument, I’m also really hesitant to change the mix of property uses around Central High School without a lot of thought and discussion (the Caroline Martin Mitchell property deeded to the city for public purposes that now includes the high school, Naperville Settlement, Naperville Cemetery, Edward Hospital, Knoch Park, the Park District garden plots and Sportsman’s Park). Renovating the high school will have no significant land use changes to speak of - but building a new high school might have involved taking away some of the other lands for school usage (not to mention substantial additional costs).
I plan to vote for the referendum on Tuesday - and I hope you’ll join me.
On a related note, the DuPage County Tax sales increase referendum has been withdrawn by its sponsors (they got the state to do it for them) but is still on the ballot - hopefully it will not affect the school referendum. I fear it will have some affect - though I have no idea how much - you can picture people not knowing a lot about the two referendums and splitting the difference when they see both (perhaps to the disadvantage of the school district which is positioned second) or alternatively, feeling overwhelmed and rejecting both (where they might have supported the schools otherwise). It’s a shame that the DuPage County Board’s disastrous budget crisis caused by a complete lack of planning for the future could affect District 203 schools - but there you have it - and when you vote remember to vote out the incumbents who brought us the disaster.
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