Naperville School District 203’s transportation facility is set for an overhaul after a majority of the board of education members voted to allocate surplus dollars within the fund balance toward the capital project. The venue houses the district’s fleet of buses and is a meeting hub for drivers.
In its 6-1 vote at a meeting Monday, Aug. 4, the board gave administrators the consent to begin the preliminary stages of looking into a new build for a transportation facility on district-owned land on Fifth Avenue. The proposal was first discussed last month.
The district’s transportation employees had been working out of a trailer there, which they vacated in May, as district officials said it had exceeded its lifespan. They’re currently working out of a leased office space across the street.
The total cost estimate for the new facility is $14.8 million to $17.4 million. Final figures will be known once Naperville 203 goes through the formal competitive bidding process. With board approval in place, the project could go to bid this fall, with construction work potentially commencing as soon as this winter.
Board member Melissa Kelley Black casts dissenting vote
Before a final vote was cast at the recent meeting, board member Melissa Kelley Black expressed reservations with allocating funds of this size toward the project without a deeper analysis. She ultimately cast the dissenting vote.
“I absolutely respect the work of our transportation staff,” Kelley Black said. “I agree that the current facility is outdated and in need of attention.”
“That said, I believe we need to take a thoughtful pause before committing to a $14 to $17 million capital project, especially when we’re simultaneously discussing possible staff cuts, service reductions, or even a future referendum that would ask more of our taxpayers,” she added.
Kelley Black said she would have first preferred a process to “explore lower cost alternatives” with the possibility of “more affordable, creative solutions.”
Other board members share different perspectives
Several other Naperville 203 board members maintained a different perspective on the expenditure and indicated they were supportive of the spending request from Superintendent Dan Bridges and the administrators in his cabinet.
“There’s probably a chicken and egg thing here,” board member Kristine Gericke said. “Happy employees like to go to work, but work has to be a welcoming environment to help those employees be happy. We can’t take one away, and expect the other one to happen.”
Gericke also said she believes there is urgency in mitigating the current conditions of the transportation facility.
“We are beyond Band-Aids at this point, so I am fully supportive of this recommendation,” Gericke added.
School Board President Charles Cush was one of multiple elected officials who spoke highly of the role bus drivers play within the district — particularly since they are the first to greet students at the start of the day, and the last to send off students when it is time to go home.
“We are very blessed in this district that we have our own drivers, who are our employees,” Cush said. “I think that they play a very crucial and critical role.”
From a practical perspective, board member Holly Blastic said she believed it would be prudent for the transportation facility to continue operating out of the same centralized spot within Naperville 203’s districtwide footprint.
“I think it’s also important that it’s in this location, and that this is continuing our investment in our electric buses because that’s where we already have it,” Blastic added. “I think that is a responsible and necessary choice that we are investing in this specific plan, in this location, and to do it now, rather than wait.”
A look into district’s fund balance policy
Last month, Naperville 203 administrators gave the board a presentation on policy 4:20, which states year-end fund balances should be in the range of 10% to 20% of the overall budget.
Naperville 203’s fiscal year ended June 30, and final figures are still being tallied, Chief Financial Officer Mike Frances said.
“I don’t know the exact figure, but I anticipate (Naperville 203’s fund balance) to be around $25 million, and that’s about 28%,” Frances said in referencing the overall budget during last month’s preliminary discussion.
Once all of the final figures are tallied, Frances said the fund balance “might change a percent or two,” meaning it will still be beyond the parameters the board set in policy 4:20.
In prior years, when fund balances beyond the 20% threshold arise, Naperville 203 officials considered one of three options: taxpayer relief, non-recurring capital projects, and non-recurring expenses and investments tied to district initiatives.
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