District 203 Referendum Approved in Naperville, Illinois

Many people went out to vote on Super Tuesday, mostly for presidential candidates. However, some went to vote for other important issues. In Naperville, Illinois many people voted whether or not to increase taxes to provide funding for the school district. Naperville Community Unit School District 203 had many important things to spend the money on and the voters agreed, approving the $115 million referendum. The bulk of the money is for one of the two high schools, Naperville Central.

The school was built in the 1940's and then added a large area to the building in the 1960's, as well as many small renovations along the way. Now the school has many problems though. Among these problems is the high likelihood of asbestos being present in the school. Also because the school was built before anyone was thinking it would be filled with computers and other technological devices the wiring is terrible.

Another problem the school is facing is the leaks, with the recent weather in the area the halls have been lined with garbage cans to catch the drips, and in some cases streams, of water falling through the ceiling. The leaks also cause ceiling tiles to unexpectedly fall throughout the day.

The garbage cans definitely don't help the school with another problem, the crowded halls. Because the school wasn't built all at once it isn't laid out in a way that allows students to move efficiently from one class to another.

The air circulation is also an issue at Naperville Central, during the summer it is fine but in cooler weather when the heat is turned on there is no air circulation in the building. Many teachers remedy this by opening windows and turning on the air conditioners in their rooms, which undoubtedly causes an increase in the heating bill. These problems and many more should be fixed starting in 2009 after the plans are finished.

However, some people aren't so confident in how much help this will provide. Thought the district claims the renovations will keep the school in working condition for forty to fifty more years some people believe it will only be a short term solution. The renovation plans don't seem to address all of the school's needs and a large number of people feel it would be better for the school to be bulldozed and rebuilt from scratch.

The district decided to do the renovations instead of rebuilding because they felt the lower cost would allow them to get the voter support they needed for the tax increase. There is no way to know what would have happened if they had chosen the higher cost option, but the poll results show that the renovation option was approved and at least something can be done now.