Naperville School District 203 officials are turning their attention to the next school year budget, mapping out a plan for large-scale capital improvement projects across multiple elementary, junior high, and high school buildings across the community.
Melanie Brown, director of buildings and grounds, gave a presentation on the current status of Naperville 203’s capital improvement project planning at a board of education meeting Monday, Oct. 5.
What’s happening this year and on tap next year
Annually, Naperville 203 designates $7 million toward capital improvement projects within the district’s broader operations and maintenance budget. Projects falling within this funding bucket typically have a common thread of being linked to a key facility or infrastructure.
“Selecting which projects receive a portion of that $7 million requires a rigorous, multi-sourced evaluation,” Brown said. “We aim to be proactive, but because the condition of the equipment shifts over time, this road map is a living plan that adapts, based on real-time performance of our buildings.”
Brown and other Naperville 203 administrators are presenting for board approval a 14-point list of projects for the 2027-28 school year budget that clocks in at $6.914 million, based on current projections Each item is a facility assessment, life-safety project, or falls within a miscellaneous category.
Two of the three life-safety projects on next year’s list are at Naperville North High School: a glass wall replacement and work on fire-rated doors. A galvanized piping project also is planned at Elmwood Elementary School.
The largest big-ticket item on next year’s list is an air-handling unit related to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning work at North.
The district’s miscellaneous category for the upcoming school year includes a myriad of projects, including playground improvements at Maplebrook Elementary School and track resurfacing work at Naperville Central High School.
During the presentation, Brown also provided an update on the current 9-point list of projects incorporated into this school year’s plan.
Some of the work has been completed, such as roof restoration and replacement work at Jefferson Junior High School, and chiller replacements at Highlands Elementary and Madison Junior High schools.
Other items remain works in progress, such as a planned generator replacement at Kennedy Junior High School, and concrete, asphalt, and flooring work across multiple district buildings.
Brown also provided a preliminary list of annual projects within the plan further out onto the horizon, stretching through the 2031-32 school year.
Cost escalation and inflation weighing on plans
At multiple points during the presentation, Brown and other district officials said rising costs and inflationary pressures continue to weigh on Naperville 203’s CIP plan.
“Our purchasing power continues to diminish from severe cost escalation and inflation,” Brown said.
Illustrating her point, Brown indicated a chiller project at Beebe Elementary School cost the district $542,332 in the summer of 2025. The same project at Highlands Elementary School was $626,300 this past summer, representing a 15.5% cost increase for an identical task in one year.
Superintendent Dan Bridges said projects and cost estimates identified beyond the 2027-28 school year plan remain fluid because of unknowns with pricing.
“That’s why we only really ask for approval for the year where the numbers are closer to being more accurate to predict,” Bridges said.
At one point during the deliberations, a question of raising the board-set CIP spending cap beyond the current $7 million threshold was mentioned. The board increased the CIP budget to its current amount two years ago; it previously had been at $6 million.
“I think that’s something that we’re going to have to discuss, both as an administration and then to bring to the board as a consideration,” Bridges said. “As you know, we are really in kind of a challenging financial situation right now, where we have a structural deficit, and we have to look at ways to reduce our spending.”
Naperville 203 typically sets its CIP plan for the next school year budget in October of the prior year because of the planning involved with larger-scale projects.
“Securing board authorization in October is critical,” Brown said. “It provides our team the lead time required to bid projects during the competitive winter window, lock in material pricing, and execute work during the narrow summer break without disrupting school operations.”
Board members comment on plan details
The board of education is slated to act on the CIP plan for the 2027-28 school year budget at its next meeting Monday, Oct. 19. Based on the discussion at the recent meeting, there was support for the plans in motion.
Holly Blastic said she found the list helpful and well organized.
“Thank you for this whole presentation, because it is a long list, but you can see all of the thought that goes into the priorities,” Blastic said.
Marc Willensky also lauded administrators for planning ahead.
“I think the district is doing a really good job staying ahead of the maintenance on here, or staying on maintenance,” Willensky said. “A lot of other districts are putting out multi-million dollar referendums, but it’s good to see that we are keeping on top of this and doing the best we can to make sure the maintenance isn’t getting delayed to a significant level.”
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