District 87 Referendum

District 87 Referendum
Posted on 11/08/2021

Below is a camera feed to the Sunnyside and MacArthur construction site. We encourage community members to check in to view construction progress!

June 1, 2021
The groundbreaking ceremony for the District 87 Referendum was on June 1, 2021.  Thank you to those that attended the groundbreaking ceremony.  Another big THANK YOU to everyone in the District 87 community for your part in supporting the District 87 referendum!
Ground Breaking - Kids Shoveling Ground Breaking - Large Group


October 28, 2020


Dear Families & Staff of Jefferson, Sunnyside, & MacArthur:

Since the successful passage of the referendum in March, 2020, the District has been actively working to prepare for the construction projects for MacArthur & Sunnyside. A facilities committee consisting of parents, staff, administrators, Board Members have met continuously since the summer to give input and guidance throughout the design phase.

Wold Architects and our construction management team at Gilbane will be facilitating a community engagement session to share the latest designs for our two schools. There will also be an opportunity for questions and answers following the presentation.

Please plan on joining us for this exciting event for insight into what's in store for District 87!

Facilities Community Engagement

Zoom Webinar

Wednesday, October 28th

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

https://berkeley87.zoom.us/j/86944379100?pwd=UVh3UVFEenArRzdKNGNiSXFlU1JrUT09
Passcode: 037207


September 13, 2020


The Board of Education approved the final schematic designs presented by Wold Architects at their August 31 Board meeting. 

Please review the full presentation here: 
SD_Board Update Presentation 8-31-2020.pdf

The Core Planning Team, consisting of community members, staff, and administrators, has met through the summer of 2020 to give input that led to these final designs. Focus groups of staff have started to meet in September and will continue to meet through October to give input on individual space designs.

Stay tuned for progress updates on these projects.


Visit the Referendum 2020 website for all of the important information about the District 87 2020 Referendum and Long-Range Facilities Plan.


December 16, 2019

The Board of Education voted on Monday, December 16th to approve the resolution for placing a proposition issuing $105,000,000 School Building Bonds to voters at the general primary election to be held on March 17, 2020.

Many thanks to the Community Committee, all community members, staff, administration, and the Board of Education for their engagement in this 2-year process to improve facilities for District 87 schools. 

December 13, 2019

On Monday, December 2, 2019, the Board held a special Board meeting to review the final data from the facilities planning process. The District's consultants, CorStrategies, presented their final Phase 3 Report along with the survey results.

Phase 3 Report
Options Survey Results

The Board reviewed and discussed the report and the survey results presented. The recommendation was made by the consultants and administration to select Option 3 after careful consideration of all feedback provided throughout the three phases of this process.

The Option 3 Consensus D87 Plan is as follows: New Building to House Both Sunnyside and MacArthur Side-By-Side; Renovate & Expand Riley and Northlake; Improvements at All Schools

A town hall meeting was hosted by the Village of Berkeley on Wednesday, December 4th. The consensus plan was shared and discussed with community members who attended. You can view the Town Hall presentation here:

D87 Berkeley Town Hall Presentation 12/4/19

The original total cost for Option 3 was presented as $111 million. The Board and administration discussed the possibility of potential state funding through capital project grants and tax relief grants, as well as the use of some of the District's fund balance to possibly reduce the total cost to taxpayers.

After careful review by the District's financial consultants and the District administration, a final proposed cost of $105 million was determined to be feasible. This is a reduction of $6 million to taxpayers for the total cost of these projects. The District will continue to pursue all available state grants and tax relief grants.

The Community Committee met for the final time on Wednesday, December 11th to discuss and reach consensus on the final recommendation to the Board. 

On Monday, December 16, 2019, the Board of Education will hold its regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. at 1200 N. Wolf Road, Berkeley. The Board will be asked to take action on the recommendation of the Community Committee and administration. The following action item appears on the Board agenda:

Resolution providing for and requiring the submission of the proposition of issuing $105,000,000 School Building Bonds to the voters of School District Number 87, Cook County, Illinois, at the general primary election to be held on the 17th day of March, 2020.


November, 2019

Thank you to the community members who attended one of our engagement events during the month of October. We also appreciate everyone who participated in our phone surveys.

The feedback from our engagement events, as well as the phone survey, was collected, analyzed, and reviewed. It was then presented to the Board at its November 18, 2019 Facilities Meeting.

The results of the community feedback presented by our consultants, EOSullivan, can be accessed here: Phase 2 Community Survey Results

A final phone survey is currently being conducted based on the final 3 solutions being considered by the Board of Education. The potential solutions have been narrowed to these three options:


Option 1 is to renovate MacArthur Middle School; renovate & expand Sunnyside Intermediate School, Riley Intermediate School, and Northlake Middle School; and make improvements to all schools.

This would partially address learning environments and traffic flow & safety; fully address security upgrades, STEM Labs, infrastructure & life safety, 21st Century learning, and library media centers; but would not address maintaining smaller class sizes, capacity & safety, and ADA accessibility.

This has been estimated to cost $75 million which would result in a tax increase for the average homeowner of approximately $343 per year.

 


Option 2 is to build a new MacArthur Middle School; renovate the existing MacArthur Middle School to house Sunnyside Intermediate School students; renovate & expand Riley Intermediate School and Northlake Middle School; and make improvements to all schools. 

This would partially address learning environments and maintaining smaller class sizes; fully address security upgrades, STEM Labs, infrastructure & life safety, 21st Century learning, traffic flow & safety, and ADA accessibility; but would not address capacity & safety issues or library media centers. 

This has been estimated to cost $95 million which would result in a tax increase for the average homeowner of approximately $482 per year.

Option 3 is to build a new building to house both Sunnyside Intermediate School and MacArthur Middle School side-by-side; renovate & expand Riley Intermediate School and Northlake Middle School; and make improvements to all schools.

This would fully address all community priorities including learning environments, maintaining smaller class sizes, security upgrades, STEM Labs, infrastructure & life safety, 21st Century learning, traffic flow & safety, capacity & safety, ADA accessibility, and library media centers. 

This has been estimated to cost $111 million which would result in a tax increase for the average homeowner of approximately $593 per year.

 The Board will hold a special Board Meeting on Monday, December 2, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at 1200 N. Wolf Road, Berkeley to discuss the final data collected and the recommendation from the Community Committee.

We anticipate a final Board vote at its regular meeting on Monday, December 16, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.


October, 2019


 

 

Thank you to all of the parents, community members, community leaders, staff, and board members who were able to attend one or more of our Facilities Planning Community Events. Below is a link to a video recording of one of the Facilities Planning Community Events as well as the slideshow presentation in both English and Spanish.


Community Event Presentation (English)

Sesiones de Participación (Spanish)

Your input is important to the future of District 87 schools.

September, 2019

Berkeley District 87 is looking to the community to guide us as we determine the path forward for our schools.

Working together, we’ve made tremendous improvements in our district as we strive to provide all our students a quality education.

  • We added STEM curriculum and other classes to teach all our students 21st Century skills
  • We added a full-day kindergarten and expanded our pre-K program.
  • We upgraded our technology.
  • We switched to Grade Level Centers and reduced our average class sizes.
  • We rebuilt our special education program while significantly lowering costs.
  • We invested more in our classrooms by hiring additional specialized, experienced teachers and support staff.
  • We are continuing to invest in security.

­

Achieving these improvements has been difficult due to our limited access to resources, with our school district being funded at only 63% adequacy in 2019. But we have been able to make smart, careful investments into our district thanks to our district’s and board’s wise and careful management of our finances.

  • We spent 26.5% less than the state average over the past five years
  • Improved accuracy of residency verification process
  • Maintained balanced budget four years straight
  • Improved our financial ratings, receiving ASBO International’s Certificate of Excellence in Financial Report Award for the 34th year in a row

 We are doing the most we can with our limited resources. However, we are at the breaking point—we cannot do more without additional resources.

 Our infrastructure is aging, with our four oldest schools facing significant facility needs (MacArthur Middle School, Northlake Middle School, Riley Intermediate School, and Sunnyside Intermediate School). Several schools need significant life safety and security improvements to ensure the safety of our students. Schools face overcrowding and inadequate spaces. Traffic flow at many of our schools creates a significant headache for parents and students. And with 33% of our students English Learners and 18% of our students having an IEP, we need increased accessibility and personalized support to ensure equal access to programming, resources, and facilities.

 With how much we have already accomplished together, we know we can meet this challenge. Working directly with parents, teachers, staff, and community leaders since last year, we have been collaborating on a path forward. This community-driven process has resulted in four potential scenarios for District 87. As we move into the final stage of this collaborative process, we need your continued participation so we can finalize a consensus plan for the future of our schools.

PLEASE JOIN US AT ANY OF THESE COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS:

DATE & TIME

LOCATION

Tuesday, October 1st | 6pm-7:30pm

Sunnyside Intermediate School (5412 St Charles Rd, Berkeley, IL 60163)

Saturday, October 5th | 10am-11:00am

Sunnyside Intermediate School (5412 St Charles Rd, Berkeley, IL 60163)

Monday, October 7th | 6pm-7:30pm

Northlake Middle School (202 S Lakewood Ave, Northlake)

Tuesday, October 8th | 6pm-7:30pm

MacArthur Middle School (1310 N Wolf Rd, Berkeley)

Thursday, October 17th | 6pm-7:30

Riley Intermediate School (123 S Wolf Rd, Northlake)

Facility Planning Flyer- English
Facility Planning Flyer- Spanish

July, 2019

A Facilities Committee Meeting of the Board was held immediately preceding the regular July Board Meeting on the 22nd at 6:30 p.m. Wold
Architects presented refined scenarios to address the facility needs of the District 87 schools. The main focus is on the four oldest buildings, including MacArthur Middle School, Northlake Middle School, Riley Intermediate School, and Sunnyside Intermediate School, with the greatest needs at Sunnyside. 

Four scenarios were presented along with the estimated cost for each. The Board agreed to move forward to further explore these options and partner with consultants to engage the community further in this process. Opportunities for feedback and input will be available to the entire District 87 community in the coming months.

The entire presentation by Wold Architects can be viewed here: Board Presentation July 22, 2019

May, 2019

During the May Board Meeting, a presentation was made by the District Architect Firm, Wold Architects.  Additional information regarding costs was shared for the possible projects to be proposed for MacArthur, Northlake, Riley, and Sunnyside. Plans will continue to be shared over the coming months and opportunities for stakeholder feedback.

Board Presentation May 20, 2019

December, 2018

A presentation by Wold Architects was made at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, December 17th. The presentation included the guiding principles developed by the Facilities Long Range Planning Committee and potential opportunities to meet the learning needs of the schools.

The presentation included estimated costs for each solution for each school site. The greatest need is at Sunnyside Intermediate School, with other significant needs at MacArthur Middle School, Northlake Middle School, and Riley Intermediate School. The Board of Education discussed the range of options with a focus on providing what is best for students, balanced with the impact on the community. 

Next steps include:

- Life-Cycle Costs: How much will it cost to maintain existing buildings?
- Develop Site Improvement Budgets
- Evaluate Financial Feasibility
- Prioritize Improvements
- Refine Options & Budgets

The committee will convene again in the coming months and the Board of Education will continue to review all information before taking any action.

Additional community engagement sessions will be planned as well to inform and solicit feedback from all stakeholders.

Board Presentation December 17, 2018

November, 2018

The committee held a community engagement session on Wednesday, November 14th at Sunnyside School. The Wold architects presented background information and an update to the community on the work of the committee to-date. Preliminary options were shown and those in attendance had the opportunity to share their feedback. The next committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 28th. The final report from the committee will be presented to the Board at its Facility Meeting immediately preceding its regular Board Meeting on Monday, December 17th at 7:00 p.m.

-Link to November 14, 2018 Community Engagement Presentation

October, 2018

On October 3, 2018 the long range planning committee met. The focus of the meeting was to review guiding principals and have design criteria discussions.  The next meeting will be held in the Main Office Board Room on Thursday, October 25 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Below are links to the meeting agenda, guiding principals, and presentation. 

- Link to October 3, 2018 Agenda
- Link to October 3, 2018 Guiding Principals
- Link to October 3, 2018 Presentation



September, 2018

At the September Board Meeting PMA Securities, Inc. presented a financial analysis for Berkeley School District 87.  Below is the link to the presentation created by PMA Securities Inc. 

Link to BSD 87 Financial Presentation



September, 2018


The long range planning committee convened for its first meeting on September 12, 2018. Representatives from District 87's parents, support staff, teachers, administrators, and board members were invited to attend this meeting to understand the purpose of this work and to begin to establish priorities for facilities.

Wold Architects presented key findings from the Educational Alignment Study and listened to feedback from committee members. 

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 26th at 6:00 p.m. at the District 87 Administrative Center. 

To view the presentation, agenda, and future meeting dates, please visit the links below:

Link to September 12, 2018 Committee Presentation 

Link to September 12, 2018 Committee Agenda & Future Meeting Dates 


June 25, 2018

Educational Adequacy Study

Wold Ruck Pate, District 87’s architectural firm, recently presented the results of its Educational Alignment Study to the District 87 Board of Education. The 180-page in-depth report quantifies and qualifies how well each school facility is supporting the needs of students, staff administrators, and community members. The purpose of the study is to ensure that the school buildings are providing, and will continue to provide, the optimal learning environment for the district’s students.  

 

The report is the culmination of visits by members of the architectural firm to each of the school buildings, their observations of each building’s space and how effectively it is used, and comprehensive interviews with school principals, administrators, and teachers.  

Over 50 different aspects of each building were rated on how effectively they meet current and future learning needs. This very thorough study included such diverse items as site utilization, classroom size and use, lighting, electrical, windows, accessibility, and digital access.

The Board of Education has begun working with the architects and a facilities committee to identify priorities for each building. As good stewards of the district’s finances, the Board will strive to determine the approach that will provide the district with the most cost-effective long-term benefits, assuring that funds are used in the best ways to maximize learning. The district will seek the input and ideas of community members as a critical part of this process.  

The results will be used in conjunction with the district’s Five-year Strategic Plan and Health/Life Safety Plan, with the goal of having a long-term solution determined by Spring 2019.

- Link to 6.25.18 Ed Study Presentation.pdf

- Link to Long Range Planning Recommendations

- Link to School District 87 Educational Alignment Study


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