CUSD 300 committee reviews Dundee Crown addition plan; administration recommends $4 million cap for design services

The CUSD 300 Board Operations Committee on April 8 heard presentation and public comment on a proposed addition and renovation at Dundee Crown High School and administration recommended proceeding with design and engineering services not to exceed $4,000,000 for Dewberry Architects Incorporated, based on a $48,850,000 overall project budget.

A staff member said the project is intended to expand the commons and kitchen, modernize kitchen facilities, repurpose the existing cafeteria into classroom and Career and Technical Education (CTE) space and move current CTE programs to newly designed areas. "There will be six classrooms out of there along with a hallway which will help with congestion," the staff member said when asked about classroom counts.

The recommendation follows a master facilities process and community input, the staff member said, and administration proposed funding the architectural and engineering services from Capital Improvement Fund 60.

Public commenter Mike Tennis, who identified himself as from Sleepy Hollow, questioned the project scope and cost. "The request assumes a $49,000,000 cost for 79,000 square feet of changes or $618 per square foot," Tennis said, and he asked whether investing in a portion of the 60‑year‑old building would meaningfully extend its life. He also asked how the project would affect student capacity (he cited a current capacity of about 2,500 students), how recent roof work would be impacted by cutting into two sides of the building, and whether relocating the CTE Education Center to a more central district location had been considered as a lower‑cost, less disruptive alternative.

The staff member responded that the cafeteria will be repurposed into six classrooms and that the current CTE spaces will be reconfigured and relocated within the building so those specialized programs can be designed "the way they need to be." The presenter said the work is not intended to reduce district access to existing programs across the three high schools.

Administration gave the design fee cap as $4,000,000, noting the final design fee will be calculated as a percentage of the final project cost once the scope is finalized. The presentation referenced an overall project budget of $48,850,000 and described the work as an outcome of long‑term planning to address immediate and future facility needs.

Committee members asked for specifics about classroom counts and the plan for CTE; the staff member provided the six‑classroom figure and said CTE would be relocated within the facility. No formal committee vote was recorded at the meeting; administration's recommendation was noted and will be considered by the Board of Education at a later, formal meeting.

The discussion included concerns from the public about construction disruption, future enrollment uncertainty and administrative staffing levels, which were raised during public participation and entered into the committee record.