After a legislative waiver passed earlier this year allowing the Bloomington school district to explore purchasing or constructing an additional building without a referendum vote, administrators are planning to enter into a purchase agreement with State Farm for its building at 2309 E. Oakland Ave.
In a news release on Friday, District 87 said it expects to use $4.5 million in reserve funds to buy the building that's currently owned, but not actively being used, by State Farm.
The potential agreement between the school district and insurer includes a provision that State Farm will lease back some of the building for training purposes for at least three years, offsetting "the financial burden of the acquisition."
"District 87 sees the possibility of acquiring the [building] as an excellent opportunity to enhance its offerings while improving programming for students and families to better address the educational needs of the Bloomington community," the release states.
In a separate statement to WGLT, a State Farm spokesperson said the company is "pleased the potential sale of the Oakland Avenue Building to District 87 would promote education, benefit Bloomington and our surrounding community" and called the site a "State Farm landmark."
As required by the legislative waiver, two public hearings on the proposed purchase will be held before the D-87 school board votes on the matter. Those hearings will be held prior to board meetings on:
- Nov. 15: An informational open house at Bloomington High School begins at 5:45 p.m. The public hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m.
- Dec. 6: An open house at the Educational Services Center in downtown Bloomington, starting at 5:45 p.m., and the public hearing beginning at 6:30 p.m.
A vote on the building's purchase will be set at a later date, following a school board review of feedback collected during the public hearings, the release said.
D-87 has been eyeing the Oakland Avenue property for several months, seeing the long-vacant building as a way to address both its at-capacity pre-K school and career educational programs.
Prior to the passage of a waiver, Illinois School Code required all school districts to take the possible purchase or construction of a new building before voters via a referendum.
State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, and State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, were the main sponsors of SB 2323,a bill that waived the referendum requirement for District 87. The state legislature passed a similar waiver for the Decatur Public Schools system in 2022.
The waiver also requires the district's purchase or construction of any new building be completed by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
