District 113 Candidates Voice Support for Referendum at Debate

Though the District 113 bond referendum has opponents and supporters in both Highland Park and Deerfield, there's one group of people that is united in its support: the candidates for the district's school board.

All five candidates vying for three spots in the April 9 election expressed their support of the district's $89 million bond referendum, which would go towards renovating Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools over the next five years.

"We need to do significant work on our facilities… at both schools," said Annette Lidawer, a candidate who is running for reelection to the board. "If the referendum doesn't pass we will not be able to do any large projects right away."

The district's renovation plan includes getting rid of building C on Highland Park's campus and replacing it with new classrooms. The physical education facilities in building C would be replaced with a a small, three court gymnasium on north end of campus. Both Deerfield and Highland Park would get new pools.

Highland Park's B building would be refurbished, and Deerfield would get a new media center. Deerfield would also be brought up to compliance with the American Disabilities Act.

The plan is

Candidate Mark Mulert, who has lived in Deerfield for about 30 years, thinks replacing buildings, as the referendum proposes, makes more sense than repairing them.

"As a building has served up its useful life, the cost of repairs outweighs cost of replacing," he said.

David Greenberg, who ran for the school board in 2011 and opposed that year's pricier referendum (which failed), is running again.

This time, he's in favor of the referendum.

"If we don't get the infrastructure fixed, kids aren't going to learn properly," Greenberg said. "If we don't do it now, it's only going to cost more later to get it done."

Candidate Julie Starkman Gordon, a retired executive officer who lives in Highland Park, favors the referendum because it includes a long-term facilities plan.

"There was poor long term planning made when decisions were made in the past," she said during the debate, referring to when some of the high school buildings were first built. "The current plan has a long term plan that's been agreed to."

Other issues that came up during the debate included safety in schools. The candidates discussed whether or not Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools would benefit from increased security measures. They all agreed that there was no need for guns in school, although Highland Park currently has an armed police officer and Deerfield will be getting one soon.

"We have a very strong school system," said candidate Stacey Meyer, a Deerfield resident and the program director at Schular Scholar Program. "We have security."

Have a question for the District 113 candidates? Leave a comment below and Patch will work them into the questionnaires going out to candidates this week.

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