As an outsider looking inward in 2016, Alex Brunk was part of a group that mounted a successful campaign to defeat a $198 million referendum to build a new middle school in North Shore School District 112, renovate some of the older buildings and close others.
Now president of the District 112 Board of Education serving Highland Park and Highwood, Brunk voted along with his six colleagues to place a $114 million referendum before the voters as Phase 2 of a capital improvement plan.
Voters will decide whether to allow District 112 to spend that money to renovate five aging Highland Park elementary schools and enhance security on all campuses when they cast ballots in the Nov. 8 election.
“The goal of the referendum is to benefit students,” Brunk said. “We have to be respectful of the taxpayers and good stewards of the funds.”
Brunk, who was elected to the board in April, 2017, said after the failure of the 2016 referendum, members of the community began to look at ways to mend the district’s crumbling infrastructure, and craft a plan that could be accepted by the public.
“Highland Park wants neighborhood elementary schools, and we’re doing that,” Brunk said. “We’ve gone from three middle schools to two, and from eight neighborhood elementary schools to five. The focus is not as much on renovation as it is improving.”
Oak Terrace and Red Oak elementary schools house the district’s dual-language programs. Brunk said because of their mission, they do not have neighborhood boundaries, and families must apply to go there.
If approved by voters, Superintendent Mike Lubelfeld said owners of a $500,000 home will pay approximately $569 a year more in property taxes for 20 years. Though most of the money will be used to improve five elementary school buildings, $6 million is for security enhancements.
Lubelfeld said the total projected cost of construction is $124 million. Of that, $108 million will be funded by the referendum, and $16 million will be provided by district cash reserves. The added security brings the total referendum to $114 million.
“They were added because of the Fourth of July tragedy,” Lubelfeld said, referring to the parade shooting that day where seven people were gunned down and dozens more injured.
Carly Jones, who chairs the Yes to Invest in D112 Committee, said what was built in the 1990s and before, “is not safe in today’s world.”
“This is not just a building issue, it’s a security issue,” Jones said. “This is what is needed for our community.”
Rather than build a new, large middle school for fifth through eighth graders, the board and Lubelfeld developed a new plan. In the first phase, Northwood and Edgewood middle schools would get a gut renovation for $75 million and Oak Terrace, the newest building, received $4 million in timely maintenance.
Work began at Northwood in the summer of 2019 and was finished last year. Improvements then began at Edgewood, which are scheduled for completion in March of next year completing Phase 1. Edgewood and Northwood students used the former Elm Place Middle School in the interim.
If the referendum is approved, Lubelfeld said Phase 2 will take place over three years. Braeside, Ravinia, Indian Trail, Wayne Thomas and Sherwood elementary schools will get a makeover, making them ADA compliant, and new roofs and windows will be installed. New HVAC systems with enhanced air filtration and air conditioning will be added.
Lubelfeld said security enhancements will be done in all schools and will include door controls, building access, window treatments, panic buttons and bollards.
While work is done at the elementary schools, Lubelfeld students will go to either Elm Place or the Green Bay Road School, which now houses the preschool and administration buildings.
When all the work is complete in three years, Lubelfeld said improvements will be done at Red Oak using cash reserves. Eventually the former Lincoln Elementary School and Green Bay will be sold.
Jones said the reason there is no organized opposition group this time is because many of the people who were against the 2016 referendum are behind this one, including her.
“I wasn’t a huge fan of the last one,” Jones said. “People felt they wanted kids in neighborhood schools, and we are getting that now. We’re not asking for a bold state-of-the-art building. The schools will be done in a reasonable time period. If we don’t do it now, costs are just going to go up.”
