BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO) — Belvidere School District 100 is working through a $70 million renovation plan to address urgent maintenance needs across its school facilities.
The proposed upgrades represent phase two of the district's facilities master plan, which first launched in 2022. The funding would address projects with years of deferred maintenance, including replacing HVAC systems and remodeling bathrooms.
A team of stakeholders consisting of community representatives, staff, students and school board members identified the immediate facility needs across the district. The proposed renovations focus primarily on some of the district's oldest school facilities: Belvidere High School, South Middle School, Caledonia and Washington Elementary.
District leadership discussed multiple options to fund the proposed projects without relying on additional funding from local property owners. Proposed funding sources include money previously set aside in the district's capital fund, alongside revenues from bond sales and sales tax.
Belvidere School District 100 Superintendent Dr. Cassandra Schug detailed the balance of funding mechanisms designated for the projects. "We do have some dollars that are set aside in that capital fund at this point that the board moved to that capital fund to show our investment and trying to work through these projects. But the great majority of funds to support these projects are going to come from bond sales and sales tax," Schug said.
District officials confirmed that financial projections for the maintenance work are structured to prevent an increased burden on community residents. "We want to make sure that that is not what is going to happen," Schug said. "All of the estimates in terms of how these projects would be funded, again, include no increased tax rate for our taxpayers."
The school board will review each project within the maintenance and improvement plan individually as planning continues. Projects under phase two could roll out as early as next summer.
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