WILMETTE, IL — Voters in a small North Shore school district resoundingly rejected a $90 million referendum question to sell off school and build a new one, sending the district officials back to the drawing board.
Three out of four voters in Avoca School District 37 said “no” to the borrowing plan, which was on track to lose by more than 50 points, according to unofficial results Wednesday from the Cook County Clerk’s Office.
Turnout reached nearly 42 percent in District 37, which includes portions of Glenview, Northfield, Wilmette and Winnetka, significantly higher than any other Cook County referendum and more than twice the countywide average of 17.2 percent.
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The median single-family homeowner in the 655-student district would have seen the property tax bill on their $480,000 house hiked by about $1,400 a year for the next quarter-century, according to data from District 37’s financial advisors and a tax calculator provided by the district.
District 37 officials sought the money to replace Avoca West School in Glenview with a new $75 million facility near Marie Murphy Junior High School in Glenview, effectively consolidating the two-school district into a single campus on the east side of the Edens Expressway. The remaining $14 million in borrowing would have gone toward repairs and renovations to Marie Murphy.
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Aiming at addressing aging infrastructure and modernizing the district’s existing educational facilities, the referendum nonetheless faced strong opposition from community groups after the board placed it on the primary ballot late last year.
Residents organized as Concerned Residents of Avoca 37 successfully campaigned against the referendum, arguing that the financial burden on taxpayers was too great and that the proposed new school was unnecessary.
Backers of the referendum said the district has not had a bond referendum in more than 30 years, arguing its facilities are falling behind other New Trier High School feeder districts and replacing them is a better investment that piecemeal repairs.
The District 37 board agreed to an agreement with Elgin-based construction manager Lamp Inc. on March 7 to manage construction of the new school.
Prior to the vote, Superintendent Kaine Osburn told Patch that the district had not spent any money on the proposed construction.
“If the referendum does not pass,” Osburn said, “then LAMP only gets paid for any work it does that is specifically spelled out in the agreement, which would not be really anything.”
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Osburn is set to retire from District 37 at the end of the 2023-24 school year. He came to the district in 2019 after taking administrator jobs in Naperville and Lake Zurich and, earlier, working as principal of Niles West High School in Skokie, where he had previously taught English.
When Osburn departs, his replacement will already have a year of on-the-job training as “superintendent-elect.”
Last year, Sandra Arreguin left her job as an assistant superintendent in Niles Township High School District 219 after the District 37 agreed to hire her to succeed Osburn a year early. She is due to receive a raise from $210,000 to $225,000 after his departure.
In a statement provided to Patch Wednesday, representatives of Concerned Residents of Avoca 37 thanked the community for coming out to the polls.
“The results speak for themselves. Through their votes, the Community overwhelmingly expressed their objection to the $89M bond request and the closure and sale of Avoca West. We look forward to working together on a plan moving forward. The Community cares about our future,” it said. “We, too, believe in investing in our schools, but we want that investment to be handled in a financially responsible way. We think that this was demonstrated by the results yesterday.”
Earlier: Parents Rally To Save Local School, Defeat $90 Million D-37 Referendum
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