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Community Corner

Comparing District 113's Plans with Education First's

A reader who attended Tuesday's presentation of Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools' master plan reacts to what he learned and encourages the school board to work closely with the community.

I had the pleasure of attending the presentation by the architects and construction management company of the options for the D113 master Plan.

The group took us through three main scenarios which they said are not set in stone yet and that they could mix and match between the scenarios. A decision has not yet been reached by the board regarding the final plan.

District 113 showed us the numbers for each expenditure category but was unwilling to provide us with totals since the plans are still in their formative stages. It did seem like most of the audience wanted to know the totals for Options A, B and C so I have included them below from my notes. Please let me know if I mischaracterized anything. It appears that Option A is $92.9M  Option B is $123.4M and Option C is $171.9M

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For comparison purposes, I also pulled the numbers from the Education First plan which came in at $61.8M before reserves. It is interesting to note that the main difference between the Education First plan and District 113’s Option A is in the area of HVAC, wiring and infrastructure and a bit in the estimated cost of the B and C Buildings. Because of that, it is important that we look especially closely at the infrastructure area to see the differences. Other than that, the Education First plan was very similar in cost to Option A.

District 113’s Options B and C start to really expand primarily in PE/athletic facilities and also to a lesser extent in the treatment of the B Building at HPHS.

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It is good to see that there are finally numbers to work with. Now, it is important for District 113 to work closely with the community to weigh the pros and cons of the options and put the pieces together in the most intelligent way possible.

Sam Shapiro

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