Evergreen Park district outlines $109.8 million bond plan to replace aging middle school, remove mobile classrooms

Dr. Jenna Woodland, superintendent of Evergreen Park School District 124, told a packed informational session that the district is proposing a bond referendum to address safety, accessibility and capacity problems at Central Middle School and to remove aging mobile classrooms at the district’s four elementary schools.

Woodland said the district’s citizens’ task force — after three years of engagement with staff, students, parents and community members — recommended testing a package that includes a new three‑story Central Middle School and renovations or additions at Northwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest elementary schools to eliminate mobile units and add dedicated spaces for STEAM, art and special education.

The proposal matters because, district leaders said, Central is nearly 100 years old and has multiple life‑safety, accessibility and infrastructure failures. "A new middle school facility wouldn't just solve these issues," Woodland said. "It would provide secure entry vestibules, optimized circulation, better visibility, accessible design, and infrastructure upgrades…