Kane County Reporter

At the Oct. 25 meeting of the Batavia School District Board of Education, district CFO Anton Inglese explained the reasons behind the upcoming referendum on issuing bonds to raze and rebuild two school buildings.

Inglese said he recognizes that the wording of the question on the ballot can be difficult to interpret and understand, but that it had to be specifically crafted in order to fit state statutes and requirements.

The referendum is on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election.

Inglese talked about the bonds and interest rates involved in the referendum. He said that there was no mention of interest rates in the ballot question because interest rates are always in flux. He said that the district could afford $9 million each year to pay off $140 million in bonds.

The referendum is part of the district’s Building Our Future Together plan.

He also spoke as to why the district has chosen HC Storm and Louise White as schools that need to be demolished. Inglese explained that though they are not the oldest schools in the district, the schools had been built "on the cheap," and had been a burden to maintain since they opened. He said just about everything, from the roof to the doors to the walls of the buildings need to be replaced, so they deemed it more responsible and a better investment to demolish the buildings and build new ones instead.

The referendum reads: “Shall the Board of Education of Batavia Community Unit School District Number 101, Kane County, Illinois, be authorized to build and equip a new H.C. Storm School and a new Louise White School and demolish the existing buildings, and alter, repair, equip and improve its other school facilities, including but not limited to installing student safety and security enhancements and improving roofs, floors, windows, HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems, and improve the sites thereof, and issue its bonds to the amount of $140,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?”

Ingles said there are other schools that need renovation, but the work will have to wait.

“It's not in the cards for us financially now to do so, but it's something that the community is going to have to wrestle with probably in the next ten or 15 years, likely it will be another referendum for the citizens to consider as to whether or not what they want to do with those particular schools,” Inglese said. “That's down the road for us to live within our means.”

The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the Rosalie Jones Administration Center at 335 West Wilson St.