No Update In A While On Elmhurst School Projects

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 board member Kara Caforio said Tuesday it's been a while since the board got an update on the district's referendum projects.

She's not wrong.

In the last year, the full board has received reports on projects twice – in September and February. That means it's been nearly six months since the last one – before two new board members took office.

In 2021 and 2022, officials gave the board reports on referendum-related projects at least every other month.

"We haven't heard what we have left," Caforio said. "Now these are smaller projects. I would like to know where are with the referendum."

In November 2018, Elmhurst voters approved going into debt by $168 million to pay for projects, including the rebuilding of Lincoln and Field elementary schools.

While Caforio referred to smaller projects, one of the biggest, Field Elementary, is finishing up. Officials aim to open the school in time for class next month.

The board's finance committee got a report on the projects in March. At that point, the projects were $18 million over budget. That was mainly because of increases in the scope of projects, which the board plans to cover by dipping into the district's bank accounts.

"I would like to understand where we are at with the facilities," Caforio said. "I think as we finish the referendum, it's important that we are continuing to maintain our facilities and make some updates as needed that weren't a part of the referendum."