MALTA – If you know one thing about the Kishwaukee College referendum on the Nov. 2 ballot,
Robert Johnson hopes it is this: If you vote for it, it won't raise the tax rate you pay to the college's debt fund.
The board has stressed that the tax rate cannot be increased by a referendum, said Johnson, the president of the college's board of trustees. And the bonds issued in the school's last referendum will be paid off before any new ones approved in this referendum would go on the tax rolls.
"We have minded the store," Johnson said.
Voters in the college's district – which includes municipalities in Boone, DeKalb, Kane, LaSalle, Lee, Ogle and Winnebago counties – are being asked to approve a $52.6 million referendum on Election Day. The referendum is part of a two-phase, $67 million improvement plan that would renovate buildings, add two new facilities at the college and update existing space, especially science labs.
Kishwaukee College President Tom Choice is "cautiously optimistic" about the referendum's chances. He knows times are tough and that many residents are keeping tabs on how their money is being spent.
But he asks that they listen to the school's story.
"We have prioritized," Choice said. "Let us expand our existing facilities within the tax rate.
"We can really take a large step forward."
Tight fit
In her first two years at Kishwaukee, Erica Huerta never has had to park in the rows furthest away from the college. That changed this year, she said, as enrollment has swelled at the school. At the beginning of the year, it was not uncommon to see multiple cars parked on the grass next to the school's parking lots.
Enrollment at community colleges is measured in credit hours, since students can be taking anything from a single enrichment course to a full load of general education courses. In Fiscal Year 2006, there were 89,400 credit hours at Kishwaukee College. In Fiscal Year 2010, which ended June 30, there were 102,690 credit hours – a 14 percent increase.
Huerta, a third-year student from Rochelle who is vice president of student government, said she would love to have more room for student activities – which would be provided in a new student center that would be built if the referendum passes. That facility would provide room for clubs, the bookstore and offices students use often, like counseling or financial aid.
"Being a student here at Kish, you want to feel part of the institution. The clubs help you do that," Huerta said. "When you get involved, you are more likely to do well academically."
Saundra Chandler also would like more space. Chandler, a non-traditional student from DeKalb, is studying to be a registered nurse. On Wednesday, she and 30 other students in her class were studying for the next day's comprehension test. The room they were in was split in two by a partition, with one class sitting through a lecture and her class crowded into the smaller portion.
Several stood around two beds with mannequins to practice skills. Some sat at nearby tables to study, but others left because the room was just too cramped, Chandler said.
"It would be really awesome if we had more beds here, where I could work one-on-one with an instructor," Chandler said.
The nursing program at Kishwaukee College has space for new 90 students each year – 40 in the fall, 40 in the spring and 10 online, program director Heather Peters said. She gets at least twice as many applications as there are spaces for the program. The certified nursing assistant program also is "exploding," she said.
Faculty have two labs to teach in, which are booked solid. An extra lab, Peters said, would provide more space for students to learn. Health career labs would be part of the 23 additional classrooms built through the referendum.
Also wanting more space is Lynne Durin, manager of the college's bookstore. The existing facility is about 4,600 square feet, which includes the receiving area. She'd love double the space. At the beginning of the academic year, there were lines out the door for all four registers.
"There were times I almost went out there and said, 'Some of you have to leave,'" Durin said. "... I look at them and think, I would have come back the next day. I couldn't wait that long. But bless their hearts, I didn't hear one complaint."
Even after the rush, Durin said the bookstore is often crowded. Students can buy everything from books to laptops to food to T-shirts to cold medicine in the store. Faculty come in for office supplies. She tries to get as much as she can into the narrow aisles but would love more space to spread out and lower the height of shelves.
'Heart and soul of who we are'
Dave Juday, chairman of the board for Sycamore-based Ideal Industries, has lived in DeKalb County most of his life and said the decision in the 1960s to start Kishwaukee College – which was through a referendum – was one of the best choices local residents made.
"As I look back on some of the things that I think have made the biggest difference in our area, Kish is a marvelous example of what I think is sort of the heart and soul of who we are as citizens of DeKalb County," said Juday, co-chairman of Friends of Kishwaukee College, a group advocating for the referendum.
Since the school opened in 1968, it has been meeting the educational needs of the community, Juday said, whether that's by offering classes for recent high school graduates or retaining opportunities for seasoned workers.
And meeting the needs is what supporters said they are trying to do with the latest referendum and two-phase improvement plan.
The first phase – which includes parking lot improvements, moving the baseball field and the start of a ring road that will circle the campus – is being paid for using $5 million in bonds already approved.
Phase 2, with an estimated cost of $62 million, would be paid in part by the referendum. About $7.3 million would be raised if the board approved a $4 per credit hour tuition increase for students, and another $2.1 million would come from the college's reserves.
Phase 2 would complete the ring road, renovate about 90,000 square feet of existing space, and add a 72,000-square-foot Student Service Center and a 27,000-square-foot Campus Operations building. It would upgrade general classrooms and allied health, nursing, radiology and sciences facilities.
Trustees have said a successful referendum will not change the school's debt tax rate of 16.34 cents per $100 of owned property, and they could choose to take a few more years to repay bonds and lower the rate.
Juday said the public has been supportive of the college's referendums because residents know they get an "effective return" for their investment. Those taking courses at the school are people who live in the district, are educated locally and then live and work in the region, Juday noted.
"I think we understand the value of Kish more in tough times than we do during good times," Juday said.
Choice noted that the tough economic climate means bids for any construction work would likely come in lower than expected because contractors want the work. It would also create jobs, and Choice hopes the majority would be filled by local residents.
Telling the KC story
Juday said supporters have been to service clubs, chambers, political forums and other groups to talk about the referendum. The campaign has been low-key, he said, because "it's such a compelling story. We don't need to prove that Kish is good. Everybody knows that."
Choice noted that the last referendum – for $21 million in 2000 – paid for the Conference Center, which is used by business groups and community organizations for a plethora of activities and had a total attendance of 77,955 during the past five years.
It also paid for the Caukin Building, which is where automotive and diesel power technology classes are held. Enrollment in those programs have tripled in recent years, Choice said, and Kishwaukee has been able to meet the demand because of the last referendum.
Still, a Daily Chronicle reporter stopped at least a dozen students on campus this week to ask them their thoughts on the referendum. They either hadn't heard of it at all, or didn't know much about it at all.
Johnson noted that the college only can provide information about the referendum on campus and that staff can't advocate for it. Choice said in their caution to not encourage a vote one way or the other, staff might not be saying anything at all.
Both Choice and Johnson said the school will meet the educational needs of the community under any conditions. That's what they have been doing as enrollment has increased, Choice said. They have raised class sizes, offer courses later in the day and on Saturdays, and left non-essential positions open.
But they can make classes only so big, he said. They can't force students to take weekend courses. They can't do back-to-back labs because instructors need time to set up and take them down. And they don't want to turn anyone away, Choice said, but he noted that "there will come a time when students won't be able to get the class they want."
If the referendum fails, the college will continue to serve the community, Johnson promised.
"We'll serve the community either way, but we'll do it more effectively over the next 15 to 20 years if it passes," he said.
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