$75 Million In NSSD-112 Middle School Improvements Recommended

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — North Shore School District 112 Superintendent Mike Lubelfeld Tuesday presents the first set of recommendations to the board of education produced by meetings of a long-range planning committee he convened after taking the job this year. According to a memo from Lubelfeld to the board, the first phase will include $75 million in improvements to the district's two middle schools, beginning with about $40 million in renovations at Northwood before $35 million in work at Edgewood. Work would begin on Northwood next summer with construction at Edgewood beginning in in 2021.

The facility improvements would be paid for by $20 million out of the district's general fund and $55 million in alternative revenue bonds, which would be paid for over a 20-year period without the need for a referendum or a tax increase, according to the district. The annual cost of the servicing that debt would run about $4 million a year, but administrators also intend to save $3.5 million annually from the operations budget, according to the memo.

Lubelfeld said the first phase of renovations was expected to be complete by fall 2022. Middle school students would be temporarily relocated during construction, possibly to the recently closed Elm Place Middle School.

"After we successfully improve both middle schools, we’ll begin to craft plans for the other needs we still have in the district. Right now we want to make significant investments into the middle school facilities where all children in the school district will attend," his memo said.

Later planning will address boundary issues, expansion to full day pre-kindergarten, liquidation of district assets and other goals, according to the memo.

The first boundary change would involve students in the dual language program at Red Oak Elementary School heading to Edgewood starting next year, which Lubelfeld said would better align the dual language curriculum. The memo also suggests some potential optional boundary areas.

Possible optional boundary changes include giving the option to attend Wayne Thomas to students currently in a portion of the Sherwood catchment area north of Berkeley Court and to those north of Vine Street, as well as giving students living south of Lincoln Avenue West in the catchment area of Indian Trail the option of attending Ravinia or Braeside.

The memo contemplates generating millions of dollars in revenue from the sale of the Green Bay Road School and site of the district's administrative offices at 1936 Green Bay Road. The building's assessed value is $5.2 million, according to a presentation to the planning committee. In the future, the district may also seek to sell Lincoln School and the Olson Park 9-acre parcel.

The shuttered Lincoln Elementary and Elm Place will remain under district ownership and will be needed for the possible relocation of Northwood and Edgewood students during construction. The memo also said more study is needed to figure out how best to handle the schools' attached historic and artistic artifacts.

"Even after this first phase of the plan is approved and implemented, there are still unanswered questions, lingering historical conflicts, and disagreements in the community stemming from the consolidation in 1993," when district 107, 108 and 111 consolidated following a referendum the previous year, according to the memo. Discussions of elementary school configuration and attendance boundary areas will continue once phase one is complete.

After the middle schools are improved, the district will still have $85 million in remaining needs, according to the memo. That includes elementary school construction and boundaries, expansion of pre-kindergarten and other priorities.

The long-range planning first phase recommendations will be first presented to the NSSD-112 board Oct. 23. They could be adopted as soon as board's the Nov. 27 meeting.

Read the superintendent's complete Oct. 23 memo to the board »

Earlier:

• Two Schools To Close Under $83 Million Reconfiguration Proposal
• District 112 Revises Draft Future Boundary Maps, Reconfiguration
• North Shore School District 112 Exploring Selling Unused Assets, Combining Schools

Proposed improvements:

Presentation from the final long range planning committee meeting »

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