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Oswego School District 308 to host meeting about $317 million referendum on November ballot · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Oswego School District 308 to host meeting about $ 317 million
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  Speaker 1: referendum on November ballot. Written by Eric Shelkov. This article
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  Speaker 1: is being read by an automated voice brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by Everlit. Oswego Community Unit School District 308 will be
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  Speaker 1: presenting its plan and answering questions regarding the $ 317 million
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  Speaker 1: bond referendum. that will be on the November 3rd ballot
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  Speaker 1: at an upcoming meeting. The information session will be from
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  Speaker 1: 530 p.m. to 7 p.m. September 21st at the Oswego
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  Speaker 1: Public Library at 32 West Jefferson Street in downtown Oswego.
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  Speaker 1: During the session, district leaders will provide an overview of
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  Speaker 1: the referendum. Those who attend will also have the opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to ask questions about the referendum. The bond funding is needed,
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  Speaker 1: the district said. to address infrastructure safety and security and
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  Speaker 1: educational improvements. Impact on homeowners. At the August 10th Oswego
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  Speaker 1: school board meeting, the majority of board members voted to
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  Speaker 1: put the referendum on the November 3rd general election ballot.
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  Speaker 1: Because the district is retiring existing long-term debt at the
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  Speaker 1: same time, homeowners would see a decrease in the debt
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  Speaker 1: service portion of their property taxes. Even if the referendum
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  Speaker 1: is approved, officials said... For a home with a fair
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  Speaker 1: market value of $ 300, 000, residents would pay about $ 100 less
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  Speaker 1: per year starting in 2028, and an additional $ 56 less
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  Speaker 1: beginning in 2036, the district said. The district had a
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  Speaker 1: facility assessment done of its 22 schools. School district officials
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  Speaker 1: said almost 70% of the schools were built between 2001
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  Speaker 1: and 2008, and are now reaching the age where major
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  Speaker 1: systems need replacement. They went through every single building with
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  Speaker 1: building engineers. District 308 Chief Communications Officer Teresa Comitas said,
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  Speaker 1: it's a full facility assessment. And it's all loaded into
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  Speaker 1: a computer program now, which allows for our operations team
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  Speaker 1: to be able to look at any single facility and
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  Speaker 1: see what the current conditions are, as well as kind
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  Speaker 1: of predict what's at, past or near the end of life.
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  Speaker 1: and what's likely to be the next big issues for us.
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  Speaker 1: Why schools need upgrades? The district quickly expanded from just
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  Speaker 1: six schools to 22 schools to meet the rapid growth
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  Speaker 1: in Oswego in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 17
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  Speaker 1: new schools were built in just 12 years. The district's
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  Speaker 1: enrollment surged from about 4,000 students in 1992 to more
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  Speaker 1: than 17,000 students in 2013. They were all built in
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  Speaker 1: that small window of time, Komita said. Officials said the
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  Speaker 1: proposed referendum dedicates 79% of funds to critical infrastructure upgrades,
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  Speaker 1: including improvements to HVAC systems and roof replacement. Flooring, plumbing, electrical,
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  Speaker 1: and building exterior improvements also are being proposed. They noted
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  Speaker 1: that bond proceeds can only be used for facility and
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  Speaker 1: site improvements, not salaries, benefits, or operating costs. The school
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  Speaker 1: district serves portions of Kendall, Will, and Kane counties. The
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  Speaker 1: referendum would fund facility improvements at all of the district's schools.
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  Speaker 1: District 308 Chief Financial Officer and Chief School Business Official
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  Speaker 1: Rafael Obafemi said the district would prefer addressing building needs
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  Speaker 1: in a timely fashion. For one thing, the district can
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  Speaker 1: get the improvements done at a better price than if
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  Speaker 1: it were an emergency situation, he said. At the end
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  Speaker 1: of the day, it's beneficial for the taxpayer if we
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  Speaker 1: have a referendum and we plan out the project and
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  Speaker 1: we do it in an efficient, cost-effective way, Obafemi said.
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  Speaker 1: Not to mention the fact there is a disruption to
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  Speaker 1: the educational experience for students as well as staff when
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  Speaker 1: we do emergency repairs. The upcoming meeting is one of
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  Speaker 1: several community conversations the district is hosting at homeowner associations,
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  Speaker 1: community organizations, and public venues throughout the district, ahead of
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  Speaker 1: the November referendum vote. A full schedule of upcoming meetings