Facility Planning & Growth

May 21, 2024

Survey Results and Update on Educational Long-Range Facility Planning

May 21, 2024

Dear Fremont Community,

On April 8, 2024, we invited you to participate in a community-wide survey as part of the District’s Educational Long-Range Facility Plan (ELFP) process. This message shares the noteworthy results of this community survey, conducted in collaboration with Fako Research & Strategies (FR&S), an independent professional research firm. These results were shared with the Board of Education at the May 20, 2024, regular monthly meeting.

Noteworthy Survey Findings
Some of the noteworthy findings from the survey include:

Survey Respondents

570 total respondents

70% - Parents of current students
24% - Community - not current parents
8% - District staff (included in the above categories as well)

Overall Satisfaction with the District

92% for parents of current students
89% for staff
49% for community members without current students (48% neutral/don’t know/prefer not to answer)

Value of Taxes Paid to the District

74% rated as “Very Good” or “Excellent”

Top-Rated Community Priorities for the District’s Facility Plan (Rated “Very Important” + “Somewhat Important”)

93% - Safety and Security Enhancements
93% - STEM/Career Technical Education (CTE) Learning Space
93% - Building Systems and Exterior Maintenance
88% - Add Space for Enrollment Growth

Impact of Growth of Residential Developments on Schools

45% believe residential developments have a positive impact on schools, while 43% believe they have a negative impact
79-83% support the idea that the District should save reserves to partially fund building additions or new school buildings in the future or use reserves to address its most crucial facility needs
91% support the idea that residential developers should pay sufficient impact fees to support new building construction to manage enrollment growth
86% oppose the idea that the District should increase class sizes and decrease programming to manage enrollment growth
68% oppose the idea that the District should construct mobile classrooms to manage student growth

To learn more, you can access the Board Presentation here.

District Steering Committee's Next Steps

It is important that our Educational Long-Range Facility Plan reflect our community’s priorities. Our Steering Committee has been meeting monthly since January and will further analyze and utilize these survey findings as we develop the plan to prioritize short-term needs and prepare for long-term enrollment growth. In collaboration with our architectural firm, DLR, we anticipate presenting ideas to the Board of Education and our community this fall.

Enrollment Growth & Next Steps in Planning

With three housing developments currently in progress and the 3,200+ residential unit Ivanhoe Village project on the horizon, the District is preparing for significant enrollment growth. As we address both immediate facility needs and plan for longer-term enrollment growth, our commitment is to uphold educational excellence with responsible financial investments, protecting our current taxpayers’ interests. The District intends to begin negotiations with the Ivanhoe Village developer regarding donations and impact fees this summer. Along with District 120, we will advocate for reasonable, appropriate, and fair donations/impact fees from the developer to maintain our high educational standards, while preventing a negative impact on our current taxpayers. The developers have strong roots in and a deep commitment to our community, so we are hopeful for a positive outcome from these negotiations as well as the Village of Mundelein’s planning process.

Staying Informed

We encourage you to stay informed in the following ways:

Visit the District’s ELFP webpage, where you can find updates and presentations.
Tune into monthly Board of Education meetings for regular updates.
Review bimonthly Fremont Focus e-newsletters for updates. To join our mailing list, please email publicrelations@fsd79.org.

We will continue to update our Fremont community during the summer months with any key items of note. We thank you for your ongoing support and will continue to advocate on behalf of our community’s best interests.

Sincerely,

Trisha Kocanda, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Gabriela Whipple

Board President