HMS Referendum
HMS Referendum (Archived Information)
Letter from the Superintendent Dr. Don White (November 9, 2016)
Dear District 181 Families, Staff, and Key Communicators,
This message is to share news on the unofficial results of the General Election as it relates to the HMS Referendum. According to the Chicago Tribune, the referendum was successful with a vote of 53.6% (Yes) to 46.4% (No). (DuPage County Results)(Cook County Results)
We thank all who voted and all who have participated in this process. This is a critical issue the community has been discussing for many years, and now a long-term solution for HMS will become reality as the process for new construction moves forward.
We have outlined a series of next steps that will help to move each aspect of the process forward. These next steps will be discussed with the Board of Education at the Business meeting on Monday evening. Those actions include steps like working with the architect to finalize the Schematic Design, reviewing the timeline and site plan with the construction manager, and continuing discussion on parking with the Village of Hinsdale. Related reports will be posted on BoardDocs as part of the November 14 agenda. This information will be highlighted in a post-meeting communication to the community.
The HMS Referendum section of our website will be shifted to focus on providing ongoing project updates, with emphasis on showing our status regarding timeline and budget. We look forward to creating many opportunities for you to quickly and easily stay informed as we move forward together.
Sincerely,
Don
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PRE-REFERENDUM INFORMATION
On the ballot as part of the November 8, 2016 Presidential Election will be a question put forth to District 181 voters, seeking authorization to sell up to $53,329,194 in bonds for the purpose of building a new school that would replace Hinsdale Middle School.
This will be the second referendum attempt for a new HMS. The first referendum, presented in the March 2016 election, was defeated by a vote of approximately 56% to 44% and had a total cost of $65 million. Thanks to the clear and comprehensive feedback of our D181 community following that referendum's defeat, we were able to develop a revised proposal that took into account the data from 500 phone survey respondents, over 1,500 online survey respondents, conversations with the HMS staff and Board members, input from those who attended our engagement events, and best practices in education design and school construction. Click here to see how the November 2016 proposal changed from what was presented in March 2016. We encourage you to explore the resources listed at right, contact us, or attend one of our upcoming events if you would like to learn more.
HMS Facility Challenges
Hinsdale Middle School stands apart from the other District 181 schools in regard to the level of its facility challenges. While our other eight schools do have some capital needs, HMS facility issues are most critical and most significant in scope. Multiple measures indicate HMS does not meet standards for a high quality, 21st century educational environment. For example, a 650-point building audit completed by Wight & Co. Architects identified an estimated $3.4 million in system and operational repairs and replacements that are needed over the next ten years (report), in addition to a complete roof replacement, previously estimated at over $2.33 million (report). (Approximately $670,000 for a roof patch would be deducted from the $3.4 million estimate if the roof were instead replaced.)
Click here to view and download the document featured below, which was created by the District to outline the key facility challenges of the current HMS building, and to compare the current HMS building to the proposed design.
