Indian Prairie School District 204 is beginning the first full year since the approval last fall of a $420 million bond referendum, and officials describe it as an exciting time with much transformation ahead.
Upcoming projects to be funded through the Safer, Stronger 204 program were the topic of a building operations presentation this week to the school board. Here are the highlights of what’s ahead.
Major renovations at Neuqua Valley
The architect and construction manager are in place for a $96 million modernization of Neuqua Valley High School by the start of the 2028-29 school year. The work will provide space to bring back freshmen for the first time since 2003 and add classrooms, science labs and collaborative work spaces.
Chicago-based Bulley & Andrews is the project’s construction manager and is working to hire as many local subcontractors as possible, said Peter Kuhn, senior vice president for educational construction.
Local vendor outreach is part of Bulley & Andrews’ community engagement plan for the Neuqua project — a plan that excited school board members with its layers of involvement for students, residents and contractors.
“Attracting local vendors is such a great idea,” school board member Supna Jain said. “And the strategy you’ve laid out for us in terms of how you plan on engaging our community is beyond what I was expecting.”
Kuhn said the company will create a project dashboard for the Neuqua work, accessible from the IPSD 204 website, and will add QR codes “on all of our site fencing to scan to have direct access to the project webpage.”
“That’s about as accessible as you can be,” school board member Justin Karubas said.
But board members’ favorite part is the way Bulley & Andrews intends to involve students educationally in the work going on around them.
The company plans to allow students to safely tour the job site through its Behind the Fence Club and will work with administrators to identify students interested in architecture, engineering and construction to take part in the experience.
“How do we utilize the project as a learning opportunity?” Kuhn said. “We offer internships starting at the high school level on every project we’re doing.”
Overhauls coming at Hill and Gregory middle schools
As some of the district’s older buildings, Hill and Gregory middle schools are in need of comprehensive improvements, officials say. They are in line to get it during the next several years, with work at Hill to launch first.
The district plans to bring forward a design contract for the Hill project during the next several months, said Matt Shipley, chief school business official. Administrators then would look to hire an architect for Gregory next summer to phase these projects to take place one after the other, once work at Neuqua begins to wrap up.
LED lighting and solar panels
Continuing throughout this year is work to replace all fluorescent lighting with LED lighting, said John Robinson, director of building operations. Lighting replacement at 12 buildings is nearly complete, and in these schools, the lights are already saving money by turning off via automatic sensors and automatically dimming based on daylight to use less power.
The district also plans to pursue the addition of solar panels to the roofs at Brooks, Steck, McCarty, Gombert, and Georgetown elementaries in Aurora.
“Our roofs are finally in a position where we can really look at this at scale,” Shipley said.
The district hopes to take advantage of federal credits for the installation to help decrease costs. Administrators plan to issue a request for proposals in the coming months to determine pricing and return on investment.
New entrances at 11 more schools
With new secure entrances operating at 11 schools after work this summer, 11 more are on the list to get entryway work in summer 2026, officials said.
Robinson said highlights include a drop-off area for parents to deliver forgotten lunches or other items without having to fully enter the school, as well as new doors, locks, release buttons, cameras and transaction windows at the front desk. The redesigned vestibules also offer a clear line of sight for office personnel to observe conditions outside.
Schools on the list for vestibule work in 2026 include Kendall, Young, Welch, and White Eagle elementaries; Crone, Granger, Scullen, Still, Granger and Gregory middle schools; and Metea Valley High School.
Turf fields for all 3 high schools
Before the first game of the 2026 football season, all three high schools in District 204 will have new artificial turf fields, Robinson said, “which is pretty exciting.”
Metea and Neuqua also will undergo track replacements next summer for new running surfaces around their fields.
“This is a ton of work,” school board President Laurie Donahue said about all the referendum-funded projects, “but so rewarding and exciting for all of us that have been building up to this for many, many years.”
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