Community Q's/District A's

Questions from Community Members & Answers from the School District

Why was preschool brought in if the school was not built for preschool? Please see PreSchool FAQ
When was preschool offered as childcare on taxpayers' funds? Waltham Elementary offers a tuition-based preschool program for academic purposes to prepare our 3- and 4-year-old children for kindergarten. Our program is NOT a daycare.
Are parents with preschoolers paying a fee to the school? Our preschool program is a tuition-based preschool.
People are already facing high property taxes in IL. What is the projected cost to build a school? The total cost of this facility addition is $9.96 million, which will have a $0.52 tax rate for our stakeholders. Please see Tax Rate FAQ
How could a school only 4 years old be too small? The new build appears to have been mismanaged if it was built too small within 3 years of new construction. The current facility is 6 years old. Please see Why We Built What We Built FAQ
Where did funds for the new school come from? Please see Tax Rate FAQ
Money is being wasted on trailers that could have gone to help add onto school. A wing should have been added first and then add preschool if that is the direction. The preschool is only using 1 classroom and the district is short a minimum of 6 additional classrooms. We brought in a 4-classroom modular unit even though we need 6 classrooms. Please see Trailer FAQ
Who will be in charge of making decisions for adding onto the building? The Waltham Board of Education
Is there a projected growth analysis being worked on to determine the size school needed? Yes, we continue to analyze growth within our district.
Why did the initial survey not address the potential for growth in the area and build an appropriately sized school? Enrollment projections were completed before building the original facility. Please see Why We Built What We Built FAQ
Why did Waltham not retain ownership of the former school sites for n case of future growth? For future expansion? The purpose of building one school was to house all our students under one roof for the continuity of the educational process. Also, when the district sold the south building to the Village of North Utica, there was no indication that our enrollment was rising. The north building was in need of major structural renovations. The cost of maintaining 2 old buildings with no indication of future need was not fiscally responsible.
If the demographic projection was incorrect, what is being done to prevent that from happening again? The demographic project was skewed due to no additional construction but instead, we encountered older community members moving out of their large family homes and young families with children moving in. This was not something the district could have projected. Please see Why We Built What We Built FAQ
Are new housing developers required to pay impact fees to the school district to accommodate the resulting growth? This is not anything that the district negotiates. Any housing development goes through the Village of North Utica.
Were city planners consulted during the design of the current school building? No, The Waltham Elementary School District 185 is a separate entity from the Village of North Utica. The district followed the process of working with the Village of North Utica regarding rezoning and permitting.
Has consolidation with another school district been considered? The district has not been contacted by any other districts inquiring about consolidation.
What options are being proposed as solutions? Currently, we are educating our junior high students in modular classrooms which is a temporary solution. The safest and fiscally responsible option will be constructing a building addition that would house our junior high and preschool along with supporting spaces.
Have we considered building fundraising efforts to help raise money for the building fund? Such as offering families/community members to buy and personalize bricks to commemorate alumni, classes, teachers, etc.? We are always open to new ideas as to how to creatively fund any and all projects here at Waltham.