The one and only OPRF High School Facilities Plan, approved unanimously by the District 200 school board in August, will be on your November ballot. This plan is a carefully thought out, cost-effective and pragmatic investment. It will benefit OPRF students and our community for decades.
Do not be misled by opponents who claim there is a better “plan-in-waiting” if voters reject this one. There is only one plan on the table. If it fails, the board will be back to square one, spending more time trying to re-solve this challenge, while also hiring a new superintendent, and leaving less time to deal with other pressing issues.
Meanwhile, the concrete and rebar containing two 88-year-old pools degrades, they leak 3,000 gallons of water daily, construction costs go up and, if we delay further, so will the historically low interest rates that we should use to help fund the project.
Two different D200 boards, with input from administrators and architects, concluded that the option now being pushed by opponents — rebuilding two pools in place — had sub-optimal outcomes for PE and athletics and severely limited future facilities use.
That option was unanimously rejected by the board in August. It cost $39 million (only $5.5 million less than the plan on the ballot), but it was shortsighted and delivered too little for that considerable price tag. This rejected plan would have shrunk the weight room, eliminated the adaptive PE gym (used daily by students with special needs and by athletic teams), reduced green space with a bump-out to the sidewalk on the southeast corner, and delivered a west pool too small for a full swim team practice.
The board concluded the resulting facilities would not even maintain the status quo for PE, aquatics, and athletics. As one board member pointed out, the two-pool plan would actually waste money by building something less than we’ve had for the last 90 years and something inadequate for the next 90.
It’s not pragmatic to choose a plan that would have negative ramifications on the school’s space use for the next century. This is not 1928 — we don’t need separate boys’ and girls’ pools, and the associated costs of duplicate mechanical systems and upkeep. Nor should we limit the ability to increase instructional space because the current ill-conceived parking garage takes up too much premium space on the campus.
Just last Thursday, the board publicly reiterated that there is only one plan and that it has no intention of pursuing options for rebuilding two pools in place. Do not be fooled by claims to the contrary.
The board has approved the most pragmatic plan — the only one that achieves the objectives identified at the start of the project and more: performing arts space, classroom upgrades, locker rooms, garage parking, and a single, efficient pool that accommodates PE and athletic needs without encroaching on athletic fields.
This plan is a smart investment in our facilities and our future. Vote Yes.
The Vote Yes D200 Referendum Committee consists of Ben Campbell, Lisa Colpoys, Wayne Franklin, Lynn Kamenitsa, Matt Kosterman, Mary Anne Montgomery, Ellen Pimentel, Peter Ryan, and Karen Steward-Nolan.