District 204 board OKs $7.6 million auditorium renovation at Waubonsie Valley High School
The project, set to begin over the summer, includes over $7.6 million in renovations, according to the agenda for Monday's board meeting.
The overhaul includes new seats, house lights, theater lights, sound systems, flooring and other replacements, according to a letter from John Robinson, the district's director of facility operations, to the school board included in Monday's meeting agenda.
There will also be an 'aesthetics upgrade' and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades throughout the auditorium, bringing the building up to code, officials said.
On Monday, the board also approved building permits for summer 2025 capital projects, and statement of completion forms for capital projects that have been completed already.
The auditorium project and other capital project-related approvals were approved unanimously in the consent agenda at Monday's meeting.
The auditorium renovation will be paid for with funds from bond sales, District 204 Chief School Business Official Matthew Shipley told The Beacon-News in an email on Tuesday. The money for the renovation will be coming out of next year's budget since most work for the project will be completed after June 30, the end of the district's fiscal year.
In November, voters approved Indian Prairie's proposal to sell $420 million in bonds to pay for facilities updates, according to past reporting. In recent months, the district has planned for a series of building renovations using money from the bond sales.
In early February, the board OK'd more than $3 million in flooring replacements, about $2.1 million in paving work, just under $1.5 million in roofing and gutter repairs and about $600,000 for four new playgrounds at schools across the district, according to past reporting.
The district will also be constructing secure entryways at 11 elementary schools, a project coming in at just under $10 million, as well as replacing lighting systems at several schools with LED fixtures meant to be more energy efficient, and installing remote access at 22 district schools to allow personnel to check the schools' HVAC systems remotely. These projects were approved at the district's last board meeting.
For projects taking place over the summer and stretching into the fall, Indian Prairie plans to spend around $40 million across this fiscal year and the next, Shipley has previously said. The next bond issuance for capital projects, set for this summer, is likely to be over $100 million and will be factored into next year's budget.
The bonds are being paid for by continuing an existing 37-cent property tax per $100 of equalized assessed value that was originally set to expire in 2026, according to past reporting. That means the tax rate for residents in terms of their contribution to capital projects would effectively stay the same.
The $420 million in bonds will be issued through 2029 for projects through 2032, Shipley previously said. But after those funds are used up, the district will need to find a way to generate $10 million each year for capital projects for existing buildings, Shipley has said. And more bond issuances aren't an option, he said, because they'd still be paying off the old ones.
The auditorium renovation at Waubonsie Valley is likely the last major capital project to be approved for the summer, Shipley said on Tuesday. The district has said it plans to provide a budget update at the board's May 5 meeting, and an update on June 16 on some of the projects funded by last year's bond sale referendum.
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