Indian Prairie School District 204 is looking to implement the “Safer, Stronger 204” limiting rate tax referendum to improve buildings within the district structurally, add more mental health resources, and enhance safety and security measures.
If approved, property tax rates will remain at their current levels. If the referendum is not passed, property taxes would go down $517 for a home with a fair market of $500,000.
“We recognize about 70% of our taxpayers do not have students in District 204,” Chief School Business Official Mathew Shipley said. “[The proposal] is geared to making sure our community members are seeing value for their tax dollars.”
The district has been planning the funding proposal for several years. In 2021, the district established the Boundary and Enrollment Analysis. A year later, they adopted the Strategic Plan of 2022. More recently, the district approved an Equity Plan and the Facility Master Plan in 2023.
“We held six community meetings back in the fall to get some community feedback on our facilities,” Shipley said. “That is all the work that went into designing the Facility Master Plan.”
The funding proposal looks to revamp buildings district-wide. The Facility Master Plan identified Waubonsie Valley High School, Hill Middle School, and Gregory Middle School as three buildings in particular needing significant infrastructure improvements.
“Those are our oldest facilities, and we haven’t invested in them since they were built,” Shipley said. “So there are some significant needs there.”
Another building that requires an upgrade is the Birkett Freshman Center, the campus designated for freshmen who attend Neuqua Valley High School. The proposal looks to move the freshmen back to the Neuqua Valley High School main campus so the building space can be utilized for district-wide programming.
Additional elements of the proposal are geared toward creating a safer school environment for all students. The district looks to modify the main entrances of every building and create a secure area where visitors can be checked in and registered before they receive greater access to the building.
“Security for the schools will be enhanced with the planned work on improving the entrances to the schools to make them more secure,” Executive Director of Communication Services Lisa Barry said.
Parents and students have provided feedback, which has been crucial to identifying the needed improvements. If the funding proposal is approved, additional mental health staff and teachers will be hired.
“We’ve heard directly from students that they want to see more mental health support,” Shipley said. “Hearing this is an opportunity to respond directly to the feedback we’ve heard from our students.”
While everything that the district is doing now is informational, if they move forward with the funding proposal it would be on the ballot in November. This decision will be made by the board in August.
“I would encourage students who will be able to vote in the fall to be involved in the process and make sure they’re registered to vote,” Shipley said. “If the funding proposal is on the ballot, they can vote on the issue as well.”
The district is providing ways the community can communicate their input. There will be multiple meetings over the next couple of months where the community can come and learn about the funding proposal. At those meetings, the district will take questions from those who attend.
“Hopefully, we’re keeping our community at a strong community where people want to live,” Shipley said.
More information can be found on the Indian Prairie School District 204 website.
