O’Fallon 90 brainstorming additions, new schools to accommodate growth

O’Fallon School District 90 administration and board members are continuing conversations about potential ways to address present and projected growth.

The ongoing conversation continued at Wednesday’s school board meeting. It’s becoming more urgent, as Superintendent Carrie Hruby said several schools need additional classrooms. Some elementary schools do not have gyms, which further limits space and physical education opportunities, she said.

The spatial constraints also limit the number of Pre-K spots the district can offer, she said.

“We are thinking about the future, and we’re trying to solve the issue of needed space at all of our schools,” Hruby said at Wednesday’s meeting.

In the past, the district has made what Hruby considers small tweaks to address enrollment growth, including cutting the number of children it enrolls in its pre-K program and adjusting school boundaries to more evenly distribute enrollment in each school.

“Now we’re at a point where each of our elementary schools has a need for space, so just making another adjustment to boundaries isn’t the full solution,” Hruby told the BND.

What changes can be made — whether that’s new school buildings, additions to existing schools or both — remains to be seen, Hruby said. Right now, the board is in a “brainstorming” phase.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Hruby recounted some potential solutions.

Evans, Hinchcliffe and Kampmeyer need more PE space

Evans Elementary, Hinchcliffe Elementary and Kampmeyer Elementary do not have gymnasiums.

Illinois requires students to have a physical education class three days a week. But because its limited space proves this impossible, District 90 has long been issued an exception to this rule, Hruby said.

“Because they don’t have designated gyms, they use their cafeterias for PE, which carves out a whole lot of the day because of lunch and cleanup and all those things,” Hruby told the board. “So you end up having a PE teacher who has to help put tables up before they can have PE class.”

Limited classroom space can stand in the way of other school quality improvements, Hruby said.

“We’ve also talked in the district for several years about decreasing class sizes,” Hruby told the BND. “Sometimes that’s not just an issue of hiring teachers, it’s also (an issue of) ‘Do we have enough classrooms available?’”

At Wednesday’s board meeting, Hruby presented three potential solutions to solve the need for gyms and more classrooms at Evans, Hinchcliffe and Kampmeyer.

All three buildings could each get an addition with a gym and classroom space, along with restrooms, a storm shelter and storage space, Hruby said. She estimated this would cost between $17.3 million and $20.6 million in total, Hruby said.

Or, just Evans and Hinchcliffe could get these additions, which Hruby estimated would be roughly $6 million less than putting additions on all three schools. Kampmeyer has classroom spaces better suited for the “wellness lessons” that take place in PE classes, while the other two schools’ open concept layouts wouldn’t be conducive to this switch, Hruby said.

In the shorter-term, Hruby said, the district could add a multi-purpose large space onto all three schools that could be used for PE, but is not a true gymnasium, for an estimated $3.7 million to $4.3 million.

Could the O’Fallon Public Library building become a Pre-K center?

The demand for the district’s pre-K programming is also growing, leading the board to discuss having a building primarily dedicated to these young learners. The district offices, which are currently housed in their own building separate from the schools, could also move to this site, Hruby said.

If talk of the O’Fallon Public Library moving proves true and its current site goes on the market, the district may consider converting the building into an early learning center, complete with 13 classrooms, a multipurpose room, offices, a cafeteria and a kitchen, Hruby said. She estimated buying the building and revamping it to fit the district’s needs would cost between $8.6 million and $9.3 million.

With a dedicated building, the district’s pre-K programming could accommodate 350 students, and not be limited to its current 300, Hruby said. By moving all pre-K students to one central location, the elementary schools would then have more available classroom space for older students.

District may build on Milburn School Road property

Hruby said both of the district’s junior high schools, which serve grades 6 through 8, are at capacity. Creating a school for 5th and 6th graders would free up space at elementary buildings and the junior highs. Alternatively, the district could just have one school for all 6th graders.

The district currently has on Milburn School Road that currently a local farmer is using and paying rent on. Hruby said a school could be built there. Building a school on that site that could accommodate 900 students would cost an estimated $40 million, Hruby said.

What’s next?

Once the district decides on a plan, it will assess how to finance it.

One option Hruby discussed at Wednesday’s meeting was to issue new bonds as others expire, that way it doesn’t require a tax increase. This is how the district is funding its current playground projects.

Building a new school could require a referendum, Hruby said.