More than a year after Project 1 was completed, District 200 still has not publicly released its total cost of $42,051,648.79, which is 29% over its construction budget (1). The final tally is only known due to a public records request. D200’s reply also confirmed, “There is no page on the OPRFHS website that lists the total cost of Project 1.”
D200’s lack of transparency continues with Project 2, the pool/PE addition, currently under construction. They have yet to disclose its true cost. The website page devoted to the project (FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions page) states that the cost of the project is “approximately $102 million,” but that’s just its construction cost (2).
Project 2’s current total cost is $140.3 million: $102 million construction cost + $12.4 million geothermal cost + $25.9 million borrowing cost (3).
Its borrowing cost may be even higher. In August, D200 issued $46.5 million in debt certificates, $1.2 million more than approved for Project 2’s funding last year (4). The vote for the increased borrowing came just two weeks after the Aug. 8 board meeting. Buried in a memo is the notation of a $1.75 million decrease in Imagine Foundation donations (5).
Disingenuously, the recently-tabbed and prominently-linked FAQ page fails to disclose why Project 2’s borrowing doesn’t require voter approval, providing no explanation of the board’s controversial funding tool: 20-year debt certificates. They’re intended for short-term, emergency borrowing to pay for critical repairs at a school such as a leaking roof. Due to their emergency purpose, they’re not subject to voter approval.
Finance experts on the board’s Community Finance Committee advised against issuing debt certificates and stated that the borrowing should go on the ballot for voters to decide; both are considered best practices (6).
Sources:
(1) Facilities Master Plan website page – No listing of Project 1’s total cost: https://www.oprfhs.org/about/facilities
(2) Project 2 FAQ page: https://www.oprfhs.org/about/facilities/project2-faq
(3) Geothermal Project Cost – 7/29/24 Five Year Financial Projection: https://go.boarddocs.com/il/oprfhs/Board.nsf/files/D7Y3VN08BB75/$file/Five-Year%20Projection%20Tentative%20Budget%20FY25.pdf
(4) Memo of Issuance of $46.5 million in debt certificates approved at 8/22/24 board meeting: https://go.boarddocs.com/il/oprfhs/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=D87HLV49133E
(5) 8/8/24 Committee of the Whole meeting FY 2025 Tentative Budget memo stating “Imagine Foundation Donations (decrease of $1.75 million)”: https://go.boarddocs.com/il/oprfhs/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=D7RPGW649E78
(6) Wednesday Journal news story: https://www.oakpark.com/2023/03/03/citizen-finance-group-at-oprf-favors-project-2-referendum
Monica Sheehan
Oak Park