With the assistance of outside consultants, Naperville School District 203 officials have assembled a list of short- and long-range facilities needs across the majority of the 23 buildings serving students of various grade levels.
The wraps have been taken off a year-in-the-making comprehensive facility assessment. The document dovetails into the more immediately focused five-year capital improvement plan that outlines more pressing needs within school buildings.
Assessment ‘a road map,’ according to District 203 official
Wight and Co., the Chicago-based design firm that has an ongoing contractual relationship with Naperville 203, played an integral part in assembling the comprehensive facility assessment, according to district officials.
“This is an important reference for us,” Chuck Freundt, assistant superintendent for leadership and school services, said as the report was presented at a board of education meeting Monday, Oct. 6.
“The board has been asking for this facility assessment for some time,” Freundt added. “This really helps us solidify a roadmap for the next several years — potentially for 10 or more years — but it is one input.”
At a high level, the assessment outlines a potential $78 million worth of improvements, districtwide, across all buildings. The dollar figure represents projects that are mechanical, plumbing and fire protection, and electrical in nature.
The report also prioritized specific projects, with approximately $7.5 million worth being the most critical. So-called “condition 1” projects were identified at six elementary schools (Highlands, Kingsley, Meadow Glens, Naper, Prairie, and River Woods), and both Naperville Central and Naperville North high schools.
Board weighs in with questions, comments on the report
At the Oct. 6 board meeting, several elected officials weighed in with questions and comments about some of the details outlined within the 240-page report.
“One of my concerns is around our more mature and historic buildings, and their ability to have accessibility, especially in the restroom areas, and with different stairs and levels,” board member Amanda McMillen said.
Freundt indicated administrators have, in the past, made shifts with some of the district’s older buildings — the nearly century-old Naper Elementary School was cited as one example — in terms of classroom placements to ensure students of all abilities are served.
“We’re constantly making accommodations for our students, certainly to make sure that they are accessing their environment and such,” Freundt said.
Board member Joseph Kozminski lauded administrators and others responsible for assembling the report.
“I really appreciate the thoroughness and presentation of this plan,” Kozminski said. “It was very easy to read, very easy to work through. It was very clear what the priority and critical issues are within each school.”
District’s annual capital improvement plan is $7 million
In an average year, Naperville 203’s capital improvement plan hovers around $7 million. A compilation of projects at or near that annual dollar figure is compiled into a five-year plan that the board and administrators hash over each fall.
The Naperville 203 board of education is slated to vote on the district’s capital improvement plan for the next fiscal year (2026-27 school year) at its meeting Monday, Oct. 20.
Melanie Brown, director of buildings and grounds, reviewed 14 specific big-ticket items on the docket for the next fiscal year. Some projects, such as a planned playground replacement project at Prairie Elementary School, will be noticeable. But other projects, such as chiller replacements, are deemed high priority, but out of public view.
Assembling, reviewing, and refining the capital improvement plan is a year-round process, Brown said.
“Throughout the year, we do keep notes of troublesome pieces of equipment, things that we know have come up,” she said. “We have conversations with district administration, building leadership. I have monthly meetings with all of the principals, and we have conversations about what’s running right and what’s running wrong in their buildings.”
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