Doug Wilson's Letter to the Naperville Sun

UPDATED VERSION:

The dedicated volunteers who comprised the District 203 Facilities Task Force need to be commended!  They devoted great amounts of time, work, and energy toward the charge given to them by the Board of Education:  to develop a comprehensive plan and review facilities alternatives for Naperville Central High School, Mill Street Elementary, and selected District-wide issues (security, vehicle traffic issues, the demands of a growing Early Childhood program, among others).  Many comments and opinions have been offered as the results of the Task Force’s work, that took place from May to November of 2006, have been publicized and since refined.  Here’s the “rest of the story”…

The Task Force was made up of a good cross-section of community members with a variety of diverse opinions.  Throughout the six-month journey of our work we experienced many rich and lively discussions, along with some healthy disagreements, as we worked through more than a dozen meetings to:

• understand the District’s facilities issues and challenges
• prioritize our work
• formulate preliminary alternatives, narrow them, and finally
• reach consensus on our facilities recommendations to the Board of Education.

Naturally, given busy calendars, no one on the Task Force was able to attend every meeting, and some members missed many meetings, resulting in their being less than fully knowledgeable of the process by the time our final recommendations were presented to the Board.  The Task Force was able to maintain momentum over the six months due to the prudent and tireless guidance provided by Superintendent Dr. Alan Leis and Ted Rozeboom, Architect and Education Planning Specialist. 

After considering alternatives from very comprehensive/expensive facilities changes to very minimal/less expensive renovations the board unanimously agreed to put forth the $43 million bond proposal on which all registered voters will cast a ballot on February 5, 2008.  At stake are major renovations to Naperville Central High School (including installation of synthetic turf and a new kitchen that would provide for a hot lunch program at all District 203 elementary schools); addition and renovation to Mill Street Elementary School; construction of an Early Childhood Center; improvements to the pool and locker rooms, traffic patterns, and synthetic turf installation at Naperville North High School; security modifications to Prairie, Ranch View and Washington Junior High.

At this point the proposal up for our vote is very similar (with improvements) to the recommendation that the Task Force presented over one year ago. And to me, that is very gratifying!  In addition, the telephone survey of voters, completed in October, generally confirmed that the Task Force recommendations were on target (59% were in favor of Plan A – the $100 Million dollar renovation plan, requiring a $40 M dollar referendum that the Task Force supported; 80% said upgrading facilities will protect the investment we’ve made in our homes). (The School Board ultimately approved a $114.9 million plan requiring a $43 million bond referendum.)

Finally, after years of work by District 203 officials and dedicated volunteers along with much community input, our decision on February 5th comes down to this:

• It’s time to take action on improving District 203 facilities!
• It’s time to protect the investments that we have already made!
• It’s time to BUILD THE FUTURE of Naperville education by moving it into the 21st century!

Vote YES! on February 5th!!

Respectfully,

Douglas R. Wilson
Community Chair of the District 203 Facilities Task Force