Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / ‘Driven by you’: Yorkville 115 survey gathering input on $275M referendum rejection, mapping future proposal

Transcript

‘Driven by you’: Yorkville 115 survey gathering input on $275M referendum rejection, mapping future proposal · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Driven by New Yorkville one fifteen survey gathering input on
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: two hundred and seventy five million dollars referendum rejection mapping
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: future proposal. Written by Joey Weslow, this article is being
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: The November ballot is providing the Yorkville School District one
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: fifteen an opportunity to write size its referendum for new
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: and expanded buildings, including two new schools, to help solve
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: an overcrowding crisis, before the district designs a new, less
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: expensive ballot proposal this August. It is reaching out to
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: residents to gain feedback on the failed two hundred and
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: seventy five million dollars bond proposal that sixty seven five
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: three percent of voters rejected on March seventeenth. The district
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: is engaging in a post referendum survey to help better
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: align the future of the rapidly growing district with the
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: property tax increases the public is willing to shoulder. While
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: the future of the district's construction is not certain, Superintendent
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Matt Zadiker previously said, what is certain is the district's
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: packed classrooms are unsustainable going forward. Zedeker previously said extra
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: curriculars and special education are currently taking place in areas
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: ill suited for proper education. Band classes are literally taught
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: in the hallway because each building is out of space.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: On the survey, the district says the facility upgrade process
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: has always been and remains driven by you. We are
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: asking you to share your perspective so we can refine
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: our plan to address our critical facility and educational needs.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: The district said, your honest feedback is the most valuable
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: tool we have to ensure our next steps truly reflect
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: the community's priorities. The district said the survey responses will
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: remain anonymous and will directly guide the district's future strategy.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Understanding the defeat plus if you voted on the Y
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: one to fifteen referendum, why did you vote the way
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: you did? If you did not vote, why plus how
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: much did the total cost and related tax increase influence
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: how you voted on the Y one fifteen referendum and
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: why plus how much did knowing there was another potential
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: plan influence the way you voted on the Y one
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: fifteen referendum and why plus how much did the potential
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: approval of data centers and the funding this could provide
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: to the district influence the way you voted on the
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Y one fifteen referendum and why plus would you support
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: a plan that maintains current tax levels to address overcrowding
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: even if the district does not complete all planned facility improvements.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: How did we get here? Across the district, enrollment has
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: tripled in the past twenty years, with another eight hundred
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: students expected to be added in upcoming years to the
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: already squeezed classrooms, according to the district's demographer. To help
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: solve this classroom capacity crisis, described by one district official
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: as bursting at the seams, the original referendum proposed a
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: new middle school and a new elementary school. A new
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: academic wing was listed for the high school, enabling all
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: the students at the Freshman Academy to be moved into
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: the one main high school building. The plan also converted
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: a current elementary school into an early childhood center, likely
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: part of the public's rejection of the proposal, The community
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: seemed apprehensive to approve sixty million dollars for a performing
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: art center and an athletic field House. The new proposal
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: for the November ballot is likely to leave out the
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Performing Art Center and the Athletic field House. Another possible
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: factor was the announcement by the city council that the
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: district could be the recipient of sixty eight million, two
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand dollars from the city in funds
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: collected from upfront payments from the developers of the Project
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Cardinal Data Center and the Project Steel Data Center. The
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: money is still subject to full final approval on both projects.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Zedeker said, while the funds used for new facilities could
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: drastically reduce the tax burden on homeowners and property owners,
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: the assumption that the data center money would be able
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: to take care of all our needs was one that
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: was pretty prevalent in the community. During a city council meeting,
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Zedeker said, the distract does not have the resources available
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: on hand to make the necessary building upgrades to overcome
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: the overcrowding issues. It is beginning to hamper the ability
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: for us to provide the education opportunities and experiences that
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: our kids and families deserve. Zedeker said, if the next
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: proposal on the November ballot is approved, students will be
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: using the new facilities by the fall of twenty twenty nine,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: at the earliest.