Demolish Hufford, Gompers Junior High Buildings: District 86

JOLIET, IL — Not only will Joliet residents decide on their next mayor and City Council on April 4, but Joliet Public School District 86 also plans to ask the voters whether to spend $100 million in property taxes to build two new junior high schools and make a substantial addition to a west side grade school.

The District 86 school board plans to vote at its January meeting whether to put the $99.5 million bond measure on the April ballot. Plans call for tearing down Hufford Junior High on Larkin Avenue, tearing down Gompers Junior High and building new junior high schools on both properties. Jefferson Elementary on Glenwood would undergo an addition.

According to District 86: "Hufford Junior High School was built 66 years ago and no longer meets the needs of today’s students. Due to a lack of space, two modular classrooms have been in use for the past 20 years ... Building a new school would address the population overflow and help create a more healthy, safe, and secure environment for all students."

As for Gompers Junior High along Briggs Street on the Joliet's east side, the 64-year-old building has also reached the end of its useful life, according to District 86.

In regard to Gompers, the District 86 flier unveiling plans for the $100 million bond measure states, "Replacing the school makes greater economic sense than trying to repair, renovate, and reconfigure the school. Similar to Hufford Junior High School, the plan calls for the new school to be built directly across from the existing school. Once complete, the old school would be demolished, making way for new ball fields."

As for Jefferson Elementary on Glenwood Avenue, it was built 54 years ago. District officials say the classrooms are too small and do not allow for teachers to have desks. "Additionally, the gym has inadequate space to accommodate sports or proper physical education programming. Adding four new classrooms, creating a new multipurpose room and reconfiguring existing classroom spaces would help solve these issues."

So far, Joliet District 86 officials have not released any financial details regarding how much the proposed $99.5 million bond would impact their property owners.

For now, the district is suggesting the current tax rate would stay the same.

"Because the District has debt expiring, the proposed financing would not result in an increase in the current tax rate. In fact, by 2030, the tax rate would go down," school officials indicated in a flier mailed to district residents in recent days.

"The last time voters in District 86 approved funding for building improvements was more than 20 years ago, proceeds of which were used to fund Sanchez and Thigpen Elementary Schools. Prior to that, the District had not built a new school in more than 30 years."

District 86 is led by Superintendent Theresa Rouse, who came to Joliet in the summer of 2016 from California. Rouse was superintendent of the King City Union School District's K-8 district n Southern Monterey County from 2012 through 2016, according to LinkedIn.