UPDATES

May 18 - a week after approving a speculative $1.9 million contract to "save money" and "get students into a new building sooner," WHAT ABOUT JEFFERSON?  Are plans moving forward to renovate this facility?  If delays are so costly that we should gamble $1.9 million before a referendum on Hubble, what is the board doing to move Jefferson preschool work forward?

March 19 - the District has posted the complete Jefferson Powerpoint presentation on its web site.  Thanks to the District.  I encourage everyone to review this information.

March 2007

On March 14, 2007, the Board brought forward an oral report from Legat Architects on renovating Jefferson.  The report stated that 10 options were considered; the final three are:  (1) renovate the existing building - $7,407,418/$7,779,456; (2) renovate the existing building and add new space - $12,280,682/$12,996,925; or (3) build a new building on the existing site - $13,469,319/$14,292,053.  The first numbers are the "current" cost and the second numbers are the cost if bid in 2009.

Legat also disclosed for the first time that new drainage would be required, meaning LOSS OF PARK SPACE at Jefferson for a drainage swale.  This means that if the Board also sells Hubble, Wheaton residents will see a net loss of all fields at Hubble plus loss of ball fields at Jefferson.

June 2006

According to the Daily Herald (June 3, 2006), "the push to enroll more Illinois toddlers in preschool programs could be strongest in the suburbs, officials said Wednesday."  The Board has still not brought forward a plan to renovate, or pay for renovations, for Jefferson Middle School, even though it and Hubble are the only two schools the District has not renovated in the last decade and a half.  As described below, the Board says it will need millions to renovate Jefferson, and additional space may be needed.

Sometimes lost in the discussion over Hubble Middle School is the fact that the Board also wants to replace Jefferson Preschool.  On December 14, the Board presented the following estimates:

Renew Jefferson (current building)  $6.3 million

Rebuild Jefferson (new building, same site) $11.3 million

Adding office space for some administrators would add $3.2 million to either number.

Interesting:  The District indicates Jefferson can be renovated at its current site for $5 million less than the cost of a new building, but the District claims it would cost $12 million more to renovate Hubble versus rebuilding.  Is it possible that the desire to move Hubble drives inflated cost projections for a Hubble renovation?

This page last updated May 18, 2007.