New Concepts include BIG CHANGES - Learn more below

Provide your FEEDBACK about the  FACILITIES CONCEPTS HERE
ATTEND a Special  SCHOOL BOARD Meeting on Tuesday, June 26 at 7 PM
 
The OPRF Imagine team held two "Community Conversations" on May 19 & 21 where their revised CONCEPTS for the Facilities Update were presented.  Each of the three concepts (color coded TEAL, AMBER and MAGENTA) included plans for the three major areas of the building - the Academic Core (the North end of the building); the Commons/Services/Support (the Central part of the building) and the PE/Athletics core (the South end where the Field House is now).  The parts of the plans are interchangeable - in other words, you can take the North end of the Teal plan and put it with the Middle part of the Amber plan and the South end of the Magenta plan and have a complete plan for the entire school.

NO COST ESTIMATES were provided for any portion of the project, and are not expected for several months, until the D200 School Board provides its feedback.  However, one SIGNIFICANT expense in all three concepts will be the cost to redo the South End (PE/Athletics core) since all concepts call for REPLACING the existing Field House, even though engineering studies recently commission by the high school determined that the Field House is in good structural condition, and the necessary refurbishment could take place without demolition (LINK pg 2 - LinkB - LinkC)

Click on image to view enarged format or use this LINK

To the right is a summary of the three plans. At the top are the "Common Components" - those elements that are essentially the same in all three schemes.  Listed next are highlights specific to each individual concept. Each of the three concepts is presented in more detail at these links: MAGENTA - AMBER - TEAL.

Whether you attended one of the May sessions or not, please consider completing a FEEDBACK form at this LINK.  It is designed for anyone to provide input, whether or not you attended a session or reviewed the plans online.  If you did attend a session and/or if you have examined the concepts online, you might be able to be more specific in your comments.  But if not, if you have an opinion - please let the committee know!

It is asks just two questions of each concept plus a final question for "other thoughts/additional feedback" - so if you don't have comments about specific concepts, just include your overall thoughts at the end.

The NEXT STEP will be on TUESDAY, JUNE 26 at a special board meeting of the D200 School Board.  That's when the Imagine Committee will initiate discussions with the Board about a potential long-term facilities master plan. The meeting is at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room, 2nd floor at the high school. This is a public meeting, and all are welcome to attend.

Refined Options to be presented on MAY 19 and MAY 21

The IMAGINE team has scheduled two dates for their Community Conversation #4 where they will share potential facilities concepts that have been refined from earlier concepts based on community feedback from the April session. NOTE: They will not yet have cost estimates. This is still the conceptual phase of the master planning process, and the committee is looking at all possibilities to address facilities needs before beginning to cost out and prioritize specific elements of the concepts.

TWO MEETING DATES (same content at both)

Saturday, MAY 19 at 9:30 AM

Monday, MAY 21 at 7:00 PM

both take place in the South Cafeteria at OPRFHS, 201 N. Scoville Ave.

Most of the proposed conceptual changes centered on the south end of the school building - the Field House.  This is where the 2 existing swimming pools are placed, and where any new pool is proposed to be set.  Linked HERE is a summary of the April session, including links with more specific information on the three areas of the building under consideration: the North end (primarily the Academic core), the Middle (the commons areas - cafeterias, auditoriums, meeting spaces, bookstore, student center, etc) and the South end (primarily athletics, the Field House)

A good deal of information based upon feedback from the April session is included in the FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) linked HERE.  One of the questions (or "complaints") heard from many concerned the very lack of specific detail that was included in the presentation, including no mention of the actual size of the swimming pool - read the answer below:

Why didn’t the April 16 conceptual diagrams include dimensions for specific elements?
The diagrams represented concepts that Imagine members are considering.  The goal is to explore and get public feedback about general locations and ways of organizing such components.  The blocks of color on the diagrams do not represent agreed-upon dimensions for any element.  That holds true for the library and the Special Education Transitional Education with Access to the Mainstream (TEAM) space, as well as the pool, the locker rooms, and most other spaces. Indeed, the Imagine Group has not yet established the dimensions of a right-sized pool for the school.

Continue reading below for a link to an informative Chicago Tribune article about property taxes

JOIN THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATION - WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?  

TOURS of the school building will be given SATURDAY, APRIL 14 starting at 10 a.m.  and MONDAY, APRIL 16 starting at 5:45 p.m.  Meet in the OPRF South Cafeteria.

Tours last about 30 minutes and depart in 15 minute intervals.

Check HERE for more information.

On MONDAY, APRIL 16 at 7 p.m. following the building tours, the IMAGINE committee will be sharing the facilities OPTIONS developed after months of research and input from school staff and members of the local community. Please come to learn what they're thinking and offer your input.

Meet in the OPRFHS South Cafeteria, 201 North Scoville Ave.

Please attend and provide YOUR INPUT.  Learn what the IMAGINE team has discovered over the past eight months of research and data collection, including site visits to area schools that have completed significant facilities improvements in recent years. The outcome of the Imagine process could have a significant impact on our property taxes - please stay informed.  

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WE ARE NUMBER TWO!

Illinois, as a state, is  #2 (behind New Jersey) in having the highest average tax rate in the nation. The AVERAGE annual effective property tax on a single-family house in Illinois is 2.13 percent. If that seems low, well compared to Oak Park's average, it probably is. To find YOUR actual effective tax rate, get out your 2nd installment 2016 bill, look at Tax Calculator section at the bottom, and DIVIDE the Total 2016 Tax (bottom number, right column) by the 2016 Property Value (second number, left column).
For many homeowners in OAK PARK, the tax rate is EVEN HIGHER - closer to 3.75% or more.

A VERY INFORMATIVE article in the Sunday, April 8 CHICAGO TRIBUNE (LINK) explains this in greater detail.

(Keep in mind that factors such as a homeowners exemption and senior citizens exemptions can effect the result.  Also keep in mind that the last tax bill does NOT reflect the reassessment that took place in 2016)
 

IMAGINE Process Continues - ATTEND and PROVIDE INPUT on FEB 27

YOUR CHANCE TO PROVIDE INPUT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27
in the OPRFHS South Cafeteria at 7:00 PM
Learn what the IMAGINE team has discovered over the past six months of research and data collection, including site visits to area schools that have completed significant facilities improvements in recent years. (more info HERE)

Formed in spring 2017, the Imagine OPRF Work Group is charged with making recommendations to the Board of Education for a fiscally responsible FACILITIES PLAN that supports equity and current and future academic programming needs. Imagine OPRF will review previous facilities plans and research, explore new options, and gather community input.

In December 2016, the Board of Education approved creation of a community engagement committee to make recommendations for a long-range facilities plan. The final work group has 43 members (LINK to list of members) who met for the first time on Aug. 26, 2017. They are divided into FOUR work groups, each with a specific focus:

• Academics/Student Achievement
• Athletics/Extracurriculars
• Performing & Fine Arts
• Physical Condition/Safety & Security.

In addition to the orientation meeting on August 26 and separate work-group meetings, the Imagine team has had 5 general monthly meetings to review their work, with 4 more on the schedule.  Here is a  LINK to a timeline of meetings and summary of topics and discussions for these meetings.

Future Community Engagement Meetings include:
APRIL 16 - possible facilities options revealed, based upon research and community input
MAY 21 - refining and narrowing down the options