District 102 superintendent details $82 million facilities plan; community questions fate of Barnsdale Science Center

La Grange Park'area District 102 Superintendent Dr. Chris Covino on Monday outlined a proposed facilities and program plan tied to a referendum that will appear on the April 2 ballot, saying the district needs roughly $82 million to repair aging buildings, improve safety and create STEM spaces across all elementary schools.

Covino told the La Grange Park Village Board that an architectural assessment by STR estimated about $35 million in critical infrastructure repairs in the next five to ten years, including roofs, foundations, plumbing and aging HVAC and electrical systems. The plan would address overcrowding, create permanent STEM labs in each elementary school, add accessibility improvements such as elevators at Caset and Ogden, and upgrade secure entrances and messaging systems.

The measure would be financed by a 25-year bond; Covino cited an analysis by Raymond James estimating that a homeowner with a $500,000 house would pay roughly $532 per year, about $44 a month, if the referendum passes. He said the district currently spends $2 million to $4 million annually on repairs and has not had a building referendum since 2003.

Covino said his team formed a community committee of about 35 people and later engaged roughly 125 community members during a strategic-planning refresh begun last April. The plan was driven by six priorities the district identified during that process: overcrowding at elementary schools, safety and security upgrades, accessibility improvements, classroom and instructional modernization, creation of STEM spaces and remediation of deteriorating building conditions.

"We began with a committee and community conversations because this was never about a district in decline," Covino said. "It was about investing in a strong district with aging facilities so we can continue to support students and staff." He said the district will seek a construction manager and project manager immediately if the referendum passes, and anticipates about a three-year construction window starting next winter.

Nut graf: The referendum would fund comprehensive repairs and renovations across all six District 102 buildings, move sixth graders into Park Junior High in a middle-school model, and install hands-on STEM labs at elementary schools—changes district leaders say will expand regular, classroom-linked science instruction but that some residents fear will reduce or displace the Barnsdale Science Center experience.

A central point of contention at the board meeting was the future of the Barnsdale Science Center. Covino said the plan would repurpose the Science Center's programs by dispersing equipment, animals and hands-on units into new STEM labs at each elementary school and by increasing science staff districtwide. Under the proposal, Barnsdale's building would house some district administrative offices after renovations and reorganization; Covino said the Science Center staff would be expanded so each building would have an in-house science expert and another staff member would remain at Barnsdale.

"The science curriculum and the Science Center experience are not currently coordinated," Covino said. "Our plan is to time a curriculum review so the STEM labs and the Science Center curriculum align; the Science Center staff would support teachers and help pilot the new curriculum." He proposed doubling the Science Center staff from two to three or four over time.

Not all residents accepted that explanation. Alexandria Zuck, a La Grange Park resident and former Science Center participant, told the board she supports Renew 102's goals for building repairs but urged the district to retain the Science Center as a distinct community resource.

"Classroom learning should enrich; it should not replace this program," Zuck said. "The Science Center provides early-childhood exposure to STEM in a way our daily instruction does not. Why not both?"

Board members pressed for specifics. Trustee Zorra asked whether programming from the Science Center would transfer to the in-school STEM labs and what would happen to the Science Center's physical contents. Covino answered that equipment and animals would move into the elementary schools and that curriculum review would follow the opening of the labs, roughly 18 months to two years later; he said the district would double staff, keep a presence at Barnsdale, and coordinate hands-on lessons with classroom instruction.

The presentation also includes facility-specific changes: a new cafeteria addition for Forest Road (which currently has students eating in the gym), a new gym at Caset with the existing gym repurposed as a cafeteria, and expanded classroom space at Barnsdale to support kindergarten and connections programming. Covino said plans call for replacing playgrounds with accessible surfacing, adding two elevators, and consolidating most sixth-grade classrooms at Park before renovating vacated classrooms.

Covino said the district put a priority on using existing space rather than building an all-new school, trimming earlier, higher-cost ideas and aiming for an estimated $82 million total cost. He acknowledged supply and pricing uncertainties and said the district will seek a construction manager and negotiate the design to avoid trailers and minimize disruption.

Regarding timing, Covino said the district will interview construction managers as responses to a request for qualifications are scored, bring a recommendation to the school board in April, then begin design and bid work. "If all goes according to plan" he said, "we anticipate roughly a three-year construction window starting this coming winter." He also noted that final timelines depend on bids and market conditions.

Covino said the referendum is an "ask" the district makes because the infrastructure needs exceed annual repair budgets: "We wouldn't have come to the community if we didn't think it was an actual need."

Questions from residents and trustees addressed costs, sequencing and alternatives. A resident at the meeting asked why the district had not allocated more capital dollars in past years to avoid a large referendum now; Covino said he could not speak to decisions made before his tenure but pointed to regular repair spending and a 2016 referendum used to meet reserve requirements. He also repeated that the district already spends multiple millions on annual repairs but that the scope of needs now outpaces annual funding.

Ending: Covino encouraged voters to review materials at renewd102.org and noted voting is already under way. The board and district emphasized that the plan, if approved by voters, would trigger a multi-year implementation process the district still must design and schedule.