District 113 Referendum Passes

Update 4/10 at 8 a.m.: The community group CLEAR in 113 (Community Leaders Educating and Advocating for the Referendum in 113) issued a statement this morning to say that its members are "grateful that voters have decided to support the District 113 referendum to repair and improve Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools."

"This was not CLEAR’s plan – it belonged to our community, and we’re grateful that our community came out in support of the two years of work that has been done,” said Dan Jenks, Highland Park area co-chair CLEAR 113.

"We have excellent teachers, students, and parents in our district," said Tony Horwitz, Deerfield area co-chair CLEAR 113. "Now we will have facilities to meet their needs."

Update 8:50 p.m.: The District 113 referendum has passed.

The $89 million referendum will help fund a $114 million renovation at Highland Park and Deerfield high schools.

"This is an exciting time for District 113," said District 113 School Board President Harvey Cohen and Superintendent George Fornero in a joint statement. "The passage of the referendum ensures that District 113 will be able to move forward with renovations to address the infrastructure and programmatic challenges faced by the high schools."

Read the District's full statement here.

"Of course we are disappointed with the outcome, but there are no regrets," said Education First Chairman Frank Pirri in a statement issued to Patch Tuesday night.

Read Education First's full response here.

The plan is projected to cost $114 million. Of that total, $25 million will come from district funds and the remaining $89 million will come from District 113 residents.

District 113 residents who own homes valued at $300,000 will pay $173 in taxes to the district in levy year 2013, a $47 increase from levy year 2012.

The 10-year average price residents have paid to District 113 in taxes is $198 annually, according to District 113's financial advisor, Tammie Schallmo, with PMA Securities.

A Highland Park High School student blogged her excitement about the news shortly after the results were in.

"I'm very grateful that the referendum was passed, and I hope the residents of Highland Park, students alike, choose to look beyond themselves and realize the overall good that this will do for our community," writes Dana Abelson. 

In other District 113 election news, Julie Starkman Gordon, Annette Lidawer and Stacey Meyer have won spots on the school board.

See the numbers below.

Update 8:15 p.m.: All precincts are in! Now all that's left are the early votes. The referendum is still looking like it's going to pass. See below for more details.

Update 8 p.m.: Results are in for 40 of 41 precincts. The yes votes are still ahead. See the tables below.

Update 7:45 p.m.: Results have started to come in. See the tables below.

Earlier: Patch is your source for local election results.

This is where we will post updated election results once the polls close at 7 p.m. today.

Residents of Township High School District 113 in Deerfield, Highland Park, Highwood, Bannockburn and Riverwoods will determine whether the District will pass a referendum to spend $89 million to renovate Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools.

Click here to read Patch's coverage of the referendum till now, including news stories and opinion pieces from Patch readers involved in the planning process for the referendum or leading the opposition against it.

For more Highland Park election results, click here. For Deerfield election results, click here.

Referendum

Vote Totals

Vote Percentage

Precincts Reporting

Yes

No

There are three openings on Township High School District 113 Board of Education. The candidates are Julie Starkman Gordon, Dave Greenberg, Annette Lidawer, Stacey Meyer and Mark Mulert.

Name

Term or Office

Vote Totals

Vote Percentage

Precincts Reporting

Julie Starkman Gordon

Board Member

Dave Greenberg

Board Member

Annette Lidawer

Board Member

Stacey Meyer

Board Member

Mark Mulert

Board Member

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