Indian Prairie School District (IPSD) 204 seeks to address its highest-priority capital facility and operating needs, including making improvements across school buildings and hiring additional mental health professionals, counselors, and teachers.

No. Voter approval of the proposed limiting rate referendum would NOT result in a net tax rate increase.

Yes. Proceeds from a limiting rate referendum can be used for both capital facility and operating needs. This is an important reason why IPSD 204 is considering seeking voter approval for this type of funding proposal. If a bond referendum were pursued, operating needs could not be addressed with proceeds from the referendum.

All IPSD 204 students and schools would benefit from the improvements being sought. The primary goal of the referendum is to provide districtwide parity and ensure that every student receives a high-quality education in a healthy, safe, and productive learning environment.

The last time voters approved funding for school improvements was 18 years ago.

Years of planning have gone into developing IPSD 204’s funding proposal, including a Boundary and Enrollment Analysis (2021), Strategic Plan (2022), Equity Plan (2023), and Facility Master Plan (2023). The District has continued to focus on its Portrait of a Graduate when making key planning decisions.

After carefully evaluating feedback from District residents, the Board of Education will decide in August whether to place a limiting rate referendum on the November 2024 ballot and, if pursued, will help craft the composition of the proposal.

The size of the proposed limiting rate referendum is 37 cents per $100 of Equalized Assessed Value (EAV), which equates to about $517 per year in taxes for a home with a fair market value of $500,000. This is the same size tax rate—and tax impact—that is set to expire when IPSD 204 pays off its outstanding long-term debt in 2026. The new proposed limiting rate referendum would effectively replace the expiring one.

If approved by voters, the limiting rate referendum would provide approximately $25.5 million annually in funding.

There are many anticipated benefits of the proposed improvements, including:

• Improving safety and security
• Reducing class sizes
• Adding mental health professionals
• Maintaining academic excellence and accountability
• Protecting property values
• Enhancing building efficiency, saving taxpayer dollars
• Ensuring every student has access to a quality learning environment
• Reducing costly and disruptive emergency repairs
• Extending the life of existing facilities

IPSD 204 is comprised of 35 buildings, including 21 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, 3 high schools, a freshman center for Neuqua, an alternative high school, a preschool/administrative center, and a building that is beyond its useful life.

The District’s 35 school buildings range in age from 15 to 57 years old, with half of them built around 35 years ago.

Yes. IPSD 204 properly maintains and repairs its buildings. However, there are major capital improvements associated with aging, outdated infrastructure that need to be addressed to extend the life of the schools and protect these important community assets.

The limiting rate referendum would address the following capital improvements:

• Districtwide security upgrades, including the addition of secure entry vestibules, access controls, intrusion detection, and surveillance equipment
• Districtwide infrastructure improvements tied to air quality, building systems, roofing, health/life safety, site upgrades, and energy efficiency
• Comprehensive renovation of four schools: Waubonsie Valley High School, Hill Middle School, Gregory Middle School, and Neuqua Valley High School
• Improving operational efficiency by repurposing Birkett and decommissioning the Wheatland and Indian Plains buildings
• Renovating elementary schools, including upgrades to classrooms, libraries, kindergarten, and student services and special education spaces
• Expanding elementary school instructional space on the north side of the District
• Renovating middle schools, including upgrades to classrooms, encore spaces, student services, and special education spaces
• Establishing a consistent maintenance and capital improvement schedule to protect what has been improved

There are a few schools, including Waubonsie Valley High School, Hill Middle School, and Gregory Middle School, that are in worse condition than the other schools. Extensive renovation work would be done at these schools.

No new schools would be constructed. The proposed capital improvements are focused on repairs, renovations, and a few additions.

None of the District’s current school buildings would be closed. However, to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs, the Wheatland and Indian Plains buildings would be decommissioned. Additionally, the proposed improvements would enable freshmen to move from the Birkett Center into Neuqua Valley High School. This would allow both the STEPS transition program and Gail McKinzie High School to be relocated into the Birkett Center.

Yes. The plan calls for additional elementary school instructional spaces. However, a new school would not be needed.

At 26.3 students per class, IPSD 204 has one of the highest average class sizes among its peer districts. For example, Naperville 203 has an average class size of 22.9, and Wheaton 200 has about 21.6 students per class. Considering that the state average is 20.8, and some of our middle and high school classes contain 30 or more students, reducing class sizes is an important goal of the limiting rate proposal.

Yes. Naperville 203 has a much lower pupil-to-counselor ratio. Following is a breakdown of the ratios for each district:

Ratio of Students to Counselors (Middle School)

• Indian Prairie 204: 424 Students:1 Counselor
• Naperville 203: 225 Students:1 Counselor

Ratio of Students to Counselors (High School)

• Indian Prairie 204: 267 Students:1 Counselor
• Naperville 203: 180 Students:1 Counselor

Ratio of Students to Counselors (All Schools)

• Indian Prairie 204: 315 Students:1 Counselor
• Naperville 203: 196 Students:1 Counselor

IPSD 204 has the lowest operating expense per pupil compared to peer districts, and at $15,524 per student, is well below the statewide average of $17,776. Conversely, all our peer districts are above the statewide average. For example, Naperville 203 spends $18,838 per student and Barrington 220 spends $21,515.

Approximately 40 new positions, including teachers, counselors, and other mental health professionals would be added to help reduce class sizes and strengthen student support services.

IPSD 204 would provide project updates at board meetings, community information meetings, and on its website at www.ipsd.org.

A public opinion survey will be mailed to every registered voter household in the District this spring. IPSD 204 will also be hosting public information meetings, with dates, times, and locations posted at www.IPSD.org/SaferStronger204.