District 87’s school board has approved the acquisition of a large building currently owned by State Farm during its meeting on Wednesday, as well as a number of other projects for the new year.
The board unanimously approved the $4.5 million purchase of a building at 2309 E. Oakland Ave from State Farm. The district plans to use the new space to expand its capacity for early education and career educational programs. Superintendent David Mouser has said previously the district has a waiting list of about 300 students in pre-K because of a lack of space.
State Farm will lease back part of the building for at least three years of the agreement, a move Mouser says will work well with completing the remodel over time.
“First of all it’s a huge building. And so for us that allows us to be able to phase the project,” Mouser said after the meeting. “I think phase one, all of us would agree, is going to be creating that early childhood space, the pre-K space. So we can focus there and expand as the years unfold.”
The district previously was granted approval through new state legislation to approve the sale without a public referendum. Mouser has said the district has fund available to cover the cost.
Architectural firms will be narrowed to a field of three by the board on March 18 for design services, and these three will present to the board on April 3.
Facility improvements
Chief Financial and Facilities Officer Michael Cornale brought a list of updates to District 87’s facilities which the board approved.
Bloomington High School was a common feature, with plans to weatherize and structurally repair both the main and west entrance. Also at BHS is a project to finish swapping out the school’s obsolete steam heating system, with the bulk of the work ideally taking place over the summer. The heating retool will use up to $5 million in state funding.
The district is also looking to prepare contingencies for winter weather in the future by purchasing a new salting truck. Cornale recounted an incident this year in which a breakdown saw the district forced to bring in outside help, which was costly.
Reading and math
Assistant Superintendent Nicole Rummel delivered the board’s teaching and learning update. While the district is showing positive trends in K-1st grade reading and math, those subjects have seen a slight dip among second through 10th grade students. Rummel said efforts to reemphasize key parts of curriculum are underway to improve target areas in years to come.
Mouser also commented on staffing levels for the coming school years. While recruiting educators is always a challenge especially in the search for bilingual and special education staff, Mouser said the efforts in recruiting at the moment seem poised to succeed in filling positions.
The district would also benefit from an increase in state education investment this fiscal year, as Mouser reported from Gov. JB Pritzker’s recent budget address. An increase of $350 million would bring the state's evidence-based budget to $8.6 billion. A new department of early childhood education is also being launched, along with more grants available for career and technical education.
