HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 2026 01-27-26Yorkville CUSD 115
Referendum Information
Yorkville Community Unit School
District 115 is the heart of our
community.
We partner together to ensure
bright futures for all our students
and our entire community.
We are all Yorkville Foxes.
As one of the fastest-growing
districts in Illinois, we are
able to provide our students
the benefits of a larger
district while maintaining our
small-town feel.
Our collaborative approach is working.
Our graduation rate, at nearly 97%, is the best of all our peer districts
and significantly higher than the state average.
Nine of our schools are rated
commendable, our students
have won more accolades
inside and outside the
classroom than we could list,
and many of our teachers and
staff have been recognized as
leaders in education.
We’ve accomplished this while being one of the most
fiscally responsible districts in the state.
Our spending is less than any peer district and
considerably less than the state average.
Our student-to-administrator ratio is
40% higher than the state average,
proving we are investing the funding
we have into kids and classrooms
instead of administrative costs.
We maintain our facilities to extend
them well beyond their typical lifespan
and perform as much work in-house as
possible to save money.
And we always operate with a
balanced budget and maintain a
responsible fund balance.
Our enrollment has nearly
tripled in the past 20 years.
However, our explosive
growth has put us in an
unsustainable position.
Every building is overcrowded,
with even more growth projected
in the future.
This has created packed
classrooms, too many transitions
for students as we try to fit kids
wherever we can, and
programming taking place in
inadequate spaces.
Because we have historically been an
underfunded district in the state,
currently only funded at 76% adequacy,
we do not have the ability to make the
significant infrastructure investments
needed to resolve our overcrowding
challenges.
And while our teachers and staff do the
best they can, the reality is this
overcrowding is beginning to hurt our
ability to provide our students the
quality education our community
expects.
While we’ve invested a lot into
student safety, more can be done
to upgrade security infrastructure.
High school students have to walk
across the street multiple times a
day.
Our top-notch music program
doesn’t have an auditorium, and
band is taught in a hallway.
We don’t have space for student
services, forcing kids to receive
support in hallways and any
unused corner we can find.
Health offices are too small to properly
separate healthy and sick kids.
Special education is crammed into half
classrooms without accessible
bathrooms, sometimes forcing kids to
be changed in the back of the
classroom, and they don’t have the
necessary therapy and sensory spaces.
And families are turned away from our
early childhood programs because we
cannot accommodate more students.
Some of our buildings, mechanicals, and furniture are aging to the point of
needing significant renovation or replacement.
We can’t provide all the extracurricular activities our students and their families
are requesting, and our athletic teams don’t have the practice space they need.
Our community has been collaborating on a plan
to solve these challenges.
Together, we developed a community-driven plan that addresses the overcrowding our
schools face while ensuring we are not put in this position again.
This consensus $275 million plan will appear on our ballots
in the upcoming March 17th election. Combined with $20
million in district reserves, the plan will allow the district to:
●Solve Our Overcrowding Issues Now and Into the Future
●Make Our School Buildings Safer and More Accessible
●Improve Learning Environments for All Students
THE COMMUNITY’S PLAN
Adding a new elementary
school.
Adding a new middle
school.
Building a significant addition at the
high school.
Transitioning Circle Center Grade
School to an early childhood center.
The plan will sustainably address our overcrowding issues by:
These additional classrooms will
accommodate current and future growth
which will eliminate overcrowding, reduce
student transitions, provide more space
for student health and movement, and
keep class sizes from growing.
In addition, all grade schools will become
K-5 schools and both middle schools will
become 6-8 schools, ensuring students
stay in their local schools and reducing
and balancing transitions throughout the
district.
The plan will allow our district to make
significant improvements to safety and
security, infrastructure, and mechanicals.
By housing all high school students at
the expanded main campus, safety
concerns over students and teachers
crossing the street between buildings
will be alleviated.
We will be able to create safer
environments for students and
teachers, including additional shelter
spaces during inclement weather.
We will also be able to complete significant
infrastructure work at all schools through
investments in:
●Mechanical Systems
●Energy Efficiency
●Plumbing
●Parking Lots
●Building Infrastructure
We will also improve ADA accessibility in
early childhood spaces, bathrooms, and
playgrounds
The plan will improve educational,
support, and extracurricular spaces
for all students and teachers.
We will be able to increase and
improve spaces for music and
performing arts throughout the
district, including a new
performing arts center at the high
school, to provide better
opportunities for students in
music, theater, and performing
arts.
We will be able to increase and improve
dedicated spaces for teachers and staff,
including improved teacher workspaces,
to support stronger relationships
between teachers and students and
increase academic performance.
We will be able to optimize and increase
space for student services, specialized
instruction, and health services, leading
to healthier students with stronger social
and emotional skills.
We will be able to expand and
improve programming spaces for
early childhood, accelerated
learning, special education, dual
language, and collaborative learning.
And we will be able to increase
gymnasium space at elementary and
middle schools and build a new
fieldhouse at the high school,
accommodating year-round use
which increases students’ wellness
and athletic opportunities.
This is our opportunity to restore pride in
our facilities and give our students the
quality educational environments they
deserve.
●We will be able to further increase academic
performance while continuing to be
innovative in our extracurricular
opportunities.
●We will be able to keep class sizes from
growing, so teachers can build relationships
with students and provide all kids the
support they need to shine.
●And we will be able to reduce and balance
transitions between schools.
●All of which will further increase property
values for every family in our community.
If successful, the referendum
would result in an annual tax
increase of $577 for the average
$323,700 home in the District.
THE COMMUNITY’S PLAN IS NOW A REFERENDUM
The $275 million plan includes a new middle school, new elementary school,
significant additions at the high school (new academic wing, auditorium, and
fieldhouse), Circle Center Grade School transitions to Early Childhood Center,
Yorkville Intermediate School special ed upgrades, and significant infrastructure work
at all schools.
Please utilize our tax calculator to
determine your tax impact.
BALLOT QUESTION
To achieve the improvements desired by our community, the Yorkville CUSD 115
Board of Education voted on December 15 to place the following referendum
question on the ballot in the upcoming March 17, 2026 primary election:
"Shall the Board of Education of Yorkville Community Unit School District
Number 115, Kendall and Kane Counties, Illinois, build and equip two school
buildings; build and equip additions to the Yorkville High School Building,
including construction of an academic wing, a performing arts center, and a
fieldhouse; alter, repair and equip existing school buildings and facilities,
including construction of additional classrooms and teacher and student support
spaces, and improvements to safety, infrastructure and mechanical systems;
improve school sites; and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of
$275,143,683 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?"
Important Dates – Election Day, March 17, 2026
In-Person Town Halls
●6:30 pm Wednesday, Jan. 28
Yorkville Middle School.
●6:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 3
Circle Center Grade School.
●6:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 19
Grande Reserve Elementary School.
●7:00 pm Friday, Feb. 20 (Spanish Session)
Autumn Creek Elementary School.
●10 am Saturday, Feb. 21
Yorkville High School Academy.
Register to vote today at ova.elections.il.gov
Virtual Information Session
●6:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 24
Scan the QR Code to Register.
Important Dates – Election Day, March 17, 2026
Register to vote today at ova.elections.il.gov
Request a Vote By Mail Ballot
Kendall County Kane County
In-Person Early Voting (Feb.5-March 16)
Kane CountyKendall County
Thank you for being part of this collaboration!
If you have additional feedback you would like to share with us,
please contact Brent Edwards at jbedwards@y115.org.
For more information, visit y115.org/facilitymasterplan