After Lawsuit, District 200 Seeks Vote On Early Childhood Center

WHEATON, IL — The issue of how to fund an early childhood center in Wheaton-Warrenville School District 200 will appear on a ballot November 6 after a resident filed a lawsuit against the school district. The decision was approved unanimously by the school board on August 20, Suburban Life reports.

Jan Shaw, who lives in Wheaton, filed the lawsuit against District 200 in early August. The lawsuit asserts that district officials violated Illinois law when they moved forward with plans to fund the proposed new Jefferson Early Childhood Center with lease certificates without getting voter approval.

The complaint states that "when a school district desires to build a new school building or to borrow money for that purpose, it must first obtain voter approval to do so, through the referendum process," Suburban Life reports.

As a result, the November referendum question will propose funding District 200's new early childhood center with lease certificates, which would eliminate the need to levy any additional taxes on voters. According to Suburban Life, the lease certificates would instead be paid off over time via District 200's operational budget.

The issue of funding a new Jefferson Early Childhood Center has come before voters before. A referendum for a $16.6 million project was voted down in April 2017. Since then, District 200 has scaled down the early childhood center project, which now has a price tag of just over $15 million.

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