District 58 considers tax hike to renovate schools

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story contained some inaccuracies regarding a potential property tax hike referendum designed to renovate schools in the district. We regret the errors.

Downers Grove Grade School District 58 is home to 13 school buildings, the oldest one having been built in the 1920s and the newest in the 1960s. The district is considering a property tax referendum that would repair and update every single one of those schools.

The last time a referendum as comprehensive as this was passed was in the 1950s, Superintendent Kevin Russell said. Because the district is tax capped, meaning it is limited in how much it can increase property tax extensions, either to 5% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less, Russell said it is difficult to find the funds to make such comprehensive changes as costs increase while funding remains the same.

District 58 currently has the lowest tax rate among large elementary school districts in DuPage County. If the referendum were to pass, the tax rate would increase 23 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation for the length of the bond, which is 20 years, Russell said.

“A lot of things are hitting people in the pocketbook, and we understand that,” Russell said. “However, interest rates are lower and other things are lower, so by borrowing the money now we have an opportunity to save taxpayers a lot of money.”

The potential referendum follows the 2018 strategic plan and has been years in the making with a Citizen Task Force and many other considerations playing part in the development of the referendum. It is a three-part referendum, the first part of which addresses facility maintenance.

The second and third prongs of the plan address safety and health and a plan to move sixth graders in the district to the two middle schools. Currently, sixth graders are housed in the elementary buildings with K-5 students despite sixth grade education planning being grouped with the 6-12 group, District 58 School Board President Darren Hughes said.

Hughes has been part of the efforts associated with the referendum nearly from the start. He joined the school board just after the strategic plan was developed in 2018, coming on at the start of the board’s efforts to seek community engagement. Hughes was the chair of the district leadership team until this past year. The leadership team was responsible for developing the Citizen Task Force, which he sat on with one other board member.

“There was a dialogue around what impacts students most and where out critical needs are rather than whether those critical needs exist because, looking at our buildings, it was clear to the [Citizen Task Force] they did,” Hughes said. “I think most people will find the ask is reasonable to our core needs.”

Moving the sixth graders in the district will make the middle schools “true middle schools,” Russell said in a District 58 facility video posted to the district’s website. District 58 is one of only two school districts in the county that houses sixth graders with the K-5 group rather than in the middle school.

The board will decide whether or not to pursue a referendum in July or August.

If the board decides to move forward, he referendum question would appear on the November ballot. If approved, the district expects work would begin in summer 2023, with additional work in the summers of 2024 and 2025, officials said. Additionally, it is expected that current second graders would be the first class to enter middle school in sixth grade.

Facility maintenance and renovation issues addressed in part one of the plan include replacing outdated and obsolete equipment that can no longer be repaired because it is so old. Unit ventilators, heaters and outdated electrical panels are just some of the basic replacements included in the plan.

Another key point for the Citizen Task Force came out of the realization that in some buildings the only way to the main office is through the school building itself, posing what could be a safety concern for students, Hughes said. This concern informed the decision to add safety vestibules at building entrances where this is an issue.

“It’s important to remember schools are a key reason people choose a neighborhood,” Hughes said. “The value of the community and our property ties directly to schools, and so I hope people take an opportunity to really look at what our needs are and evaluate them on their merit.”

In 2018, voters in Community High School District 99 overwhelmingly approved a tax hike referendum that funded significant improvements at both Downers Grove North and South high schools.