Frequently Asked Questions

District 58 seeks to protect and improve its 13 school buildings. The District 58 community has not approved a referendum that addresses facility improvements at every school since 1950, and the District has significant facility needs. Illinois’s school funding model makes it very difficult for tax-capped school districts, like District 58, to fund large projects without a referendum. Therefore, District 58 will need to pass a referendum to achieve its facility projects. 

In summary, a successful bond referendum would allow District 58 to:

• replace old HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems that would extend the life of District 58's schools, reduce costly repairs and improve energy efficiency
• create more secure entrances, where visitors can be properly screened
• add air-conditioning and associated required electrical upgrades, as well as improved ventilation and air quality
• complete important life and safety repairs, such as adding ADA signage, and replacing outdated fire alarms, intercom systems, bleachers and more
• move sixth graders to the middle school, which would not only benefit sixth graders, it would also free up overcrowding in the elementary schools
• secure and strengthen District 58’s neighborhood schools while protecting property values

All residents who live within District 58’s boundaries would be eligible to vote on the District 58 bond referendum.

On Nov. 8, 2022, the District 58 community will be asked to decide on the following question:

Shall the Board of Education of Downers Grove Grade School District Number 58, DuPage County, Illinois, alter, repair and equip existing school buildings, including improving safety and security, replacing roofs and plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems, updating classrooms, science labs and libraries, improving energy efficiency and increasing accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act, build and equip middle school building additions and improve school sites and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of $179,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?

YES = Voting FOR the referendum

NO = Voting AGAINST the referendum

If the bond referendum passes, the money would be used to fund maintenance projects; health, safety and security upgrades; and the expansion of the two middle schools to allow for the addition of sixth-grade students, while addressing overcrowding at District elementary schools. See details here.

District 58 lacks the revenues needed to maintain its schools. Here are some ways District 58 has been limited in its facility spending:

• District 58 has the lowest property tax rate among all large DuPage elementary school districts. Even if the bond proposal were to pass, District 58 would still have the lowest tax rate.
• Why is tax rate relevant? If you owned a home valued at $300,000 in District 58, you would pay $1,980/year in taxes to District 58. If you owned a $300,000 home in nearby Woodridge District 68, you would pay $4,210/year in taxes to that district.
• District 58 also spends less per student than 76% of DuPage school districts.
• In general, it is more expensive to maintain several small neighborhood schools, like those in District 58, than just a few large schools, like those in many surrounding communities.
• The State passed at least 218 unfunded mandates since 1992. This means District 58 had to find money from its existing budget to pay for 218+ new services required by law.
• The Tax Cap passed in 1991 restricted local governments, including District 58, to issuing non-referendum debt equal to its 1991 debt level. District 58 had very little debt then. This means that while many other school districts can borrow large sums of money without seeking voter approval, District 58 cannot. This limits our ability to fund critical, but costly, facility projects without a referendum. The tax cap places a local unit of government's ability to do large capital work with the voters by requiring a referendum to do the work. 
• Thirty years ago voters in District 58 passed a referendum to build school additions. However, the last time voters in District 58 supported a referendum for districtwide facility improvements was in 1950.

District 58’s most recent referendum attempt in 2007 failed. District 58 respects the taxpayers, and the taxpayers said they didn't want District 58 to invest more in its schools in 2007. Since then, District 58 has done its best job to provide an excellent education for students while living within its means. The District had to make tough choices, and that meant prioritizing good teachers and strong curriculum over facilities. (In fact, over the past five years, District 58 has updated its curriculum in Math, English-Language Arts, Science and Social Studies, and will pilot a new Writing curriculum next school year.) The District continued to plan long-term for its facilities -- this planning was time intensive and involved many community input opportunities; it also got delayed two years by the pandemic.

District 58 is pursuing the referendum because the community called for all facilities to be addressed thoroughly in the Strategic Plan. Additionally, the District’s Citizen Task Force called for this work to be done at this time. The continual aging of facilities causes more and more operational funds to be directed away from instruction. Economic conditions will continue to be in flux and will vary no matter when a referendum takes place. Should the District continue to wait to address its aging facilities, emergency repair costs will continue and there are immediate needs.

The last time District 58 voters approved funding was in 1992. This $10.9 million referendum supported building additions at several schools. The last time voters approved a referendum for districtwide facility improvements (not new schools or additions) was in 1950.

To put it into context, students who were in kindergarten when the last referendum passed are 35-year-old adults now, whose own children may be in kindergarten.

District’s schools range in age from 53-94.

The plan encompasses all of District 58’s facility needs and totals $245 million. 

District 58’s potential bond referendum is $179 million. District 58 used community input to prioritize the facility needs described in the Master Facility Plan. The bond proposal includes the majority of facility needs outlined in the full plan. However, to lower the total cost, the proposal removed the following items and District 58 will instead omit them, budget for them using existing funds, or seek alternative grant funding for them:

• Years 9-12 Maintenance (proposal instead includes eight years of maintenance work)
• Future-Ready/21st Century Learning Renovations
• Site Improvements (Playgrounds, Fields, Paving)
• Interior Lighting
• Exterior Lighting
• Miscellaneous Interiors 
• Storage, Flooring, Ceiling Repairs, Lockers, Cubbies, Acoustics, Etc.

Please view this document to see an outline of everything included in the $179 potential bond referendum.

Yes, facility improvements are in line with neighboring districts and industry best practices, which will keep District 58 competitive with other districts in the area.

While not every classroom will be guaranteed to see improvements, every building will receive improvements, such as bathroom renovations, more secure vestibules and ADA signage. Each building has unique needs that have been taken into account.  

If voters do not support a referendum, the District 58 Board of Education will have to re-evaluate its options. While we do not know what direction the Board would choose to go, options include seeking a smaller referendum for the most essential capital projects; readjusting boundaries and closing/consolidating schools; and re-allocating funds from other sources to address capital improvements. 

While there are many factors that impact the value of a home, according to a 2018 Marketwatch article, home values are closely connected to the quality of the schools. The article reported that “nearly three-quarters of home buyers said that living in a good school district was important in their house hunt.” The article is based upon a realtor.com survey that can be found here. In addition, the February 2010 issue of the Quarterly Journal of Economics featured a National Bureau of Economic Research study¹ that found that when school districts pass facility referendums, property values are positively affected.

¹ CELLINI, S. R., F. FERREIRA, AND J. ROTHSTEIN (2010): “The Value of School Facility Investments: Evidence from a Dynamic Regression Discontinuity Design,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125, 215–261.

The referendum costs $179 million and includes maintenance projects; health, safety and security upgrades; and the expansion of the two middle schools to allow for the addition of sixth-grade students. 

District 58 has approximately $245 million in facility needs. The District’s Citizen Task Force prioritized its greatest facility needs, reducing the total proposal to $179 million. See this flyer for a breakdown of the proposed improvements at each school.

If the referendum is successful, a community member who owns a house valued at $300,000 would see their taxes increase approximately $253 for 20 years. The following chart shows the tax impacts for homes of varying values.

In winter 2022, District 58 projected that the $179 million facility proposal would increase District 58’s tax rate by 0.23. Given the uniqueness of the current bond market, District 58 recalculated the property tax impact in August 2022 and updated its projection to 0.25. The new projection would increase District 58’s property tax rate from $1.98 to $2.23 (0.25). 

District 58 currently has the lowest property tax rate when compared to all DuPage County large elementary school districts. 

The cost of the Master Facility Plan was estimated at $245 million, and the Citizen Task Force recommended moving forward with $179 million of those projects. The cost list included some projected inflation estimates, but it is likely that some preventative maintenance projects may need other funding to complete in the immediate future. District 58 has consistently used conservative numbers when estimating costs, so there is room for higher-than-expected inflation.

Although the District budgeted conservatively, the economy has experienced higher-than-usual inflation, which could impact work the District will be able to achieve with $179 millon.

If the referendum passes, District 58 would prioritize the following projects:

• Secure entrances for all schools
• Updated HVAC systems, including adding air conditioning and improving air quality and ventilation in all educational spaces
• Building additions to the middle schools to accommodate the addition of sixth graders. Not only would this benefit sixth graders, but it would also address overcrowding in the neighborhood elementary schools.

After funding these top priorities, District 58 would prioritize its maintenance projects (i.e. roofing, plumbing, etc.) and complete as many as possible. 

District 58:

• restructured the small amount of debt it had to capture an interest rate under 1%, which will save taxpayers approximately $390,000.
• issued $3 million in bonds for summer 2021 capital work
• sold the Longfellow facility for $4.155 million and used approximately $3 million of the proceeds for summer 2022 capital work. The remaining proceeds were placed in a fund balance to help manage the low cash point in the year and, if needed, for emergency capital work. 
• created a fund balance policy to ensure that the District has funds on hand during the low-cash points of the year to cover its expenses. 
• developed a Five-Year Financial Plan to ensure fiscal stability, program support over multiple years, and stable fiscal management. 

School districts rely on community support through referendums in order to raise sufficient funding for large capital projects.

The District restructured its bonded debt in spring of 2021. The restructure allowed the District to refinance for savings using the much lower rates in the market compared to the rates when the bonds were issued initially. Though the restructuring extended the debt out two years, the savings was $390,000. 

The Master Facility Plan focuses on District 58 schools, and intentionally did not address the District’s administrative facilities. 

District 58 has historically operated two administration buildings: the Administrative Service Center (ASC) on 63rd Street and the Longfellow Center on Prairie Avenue. Last school year, the District sold the Longfellow property for $4.155 million (well above the minimum bid price of $3 million), moved its administrative staff to temporary leased space on Warrenville Road, and entered a partnership with the Village of Downers Grove on a permanent shared office building. The District also repurposed the existing ASC as a maintenance center and storage facility; the building’s layout allows large orders to be delivered and sorted much more quickly than before. The above actions will save taxpayers millions of dollars while helping District 58 run more efficiently.

District 58 has discussed Longfellow’s future for decades. The building had a 10-year roof replacement in 2012 with the understanding that the District would soon find a more long-term solution. During this period, the District only invested minimal maintenance into Longfellow. If District 58 had decided to permanently keep and maintain the building, it would have required significant work. Deferred maintenance alone would have cost an estimated $2.32 million; to fully renovate the building would have cost approximately $6.39 million.

The future Downers Grove Civic Center will house District 58, Downers Grove Village Hall and the Downers Grove Police Department. The center will be built where the current Village Hall’s parking lot is located. The Village will own the property, and District 58 will sign a 50-year lease. District 58 will pay the construction costs for only the additional square footage and parking required to accommodate District staff. The payment, which will be $48,700/year, will be stretched over a 25-year period without an increase over that time. For the following 25 years, the lease payment will be halved ($24,350/year) to cover building maintenance and upkeep. The combined use of resources will have significant long-term savings for the community. 

In the meantime, District 58 used approximately $3 million of Longfellow’s proceeds to fund its highest priority facility projects during summer 2022, which included: masonry remediation at El Sierra, Highland and Kingsley; asbestos abatement and flooring replacement at Henry Puffer; fire alarm replacement at Henry Puffer and Highland; paving improvements at Henry Puffer and Hillcrest; and door replacement at Fairmount. (Note: due to supply chain delays and labor shortages/strikes, parts of the masonry and fire alarm replacement projects will be moved to summer 2023, as both of these projects cannot be completed while school is in session.) The remaining proceeds were placed in a fund balance to help manage the low cash point in the year and, if needed, for emergency capital work. 

Furthermore, District 58 may gain an additional $100,000 per year from new property taxes. A developer purchased the Longfellow property and is building 12 homes on the property. These additions to the property tax base will bring in additional operating property tax revenue for all local taxing bodies, including the library, park district and both school districts. 

District 58’s tax rate is 1.98. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) classifies school districts by type and size. According to ISBE, District 58 is a “large elementary school district.” District 58 currently has the lowest tax rate of all large elementary school districts in DuPage County.

This is relevant because if you owned a home valued at $300,000 in District 58, you would pay $1,980/year in taxes to District 58. If you owned a $300,000 home in nearby Woodridge District 68, you would pay $4,210/year in taxes to that district.

Here are the tax rates for all large elementary school districts in DuPage County.

Source: 2021 DuPage County Tax Booklet

Downers Grove District 58 has the fourth lowest tax rate among all elementary school districts in DuPage County. The three elementary school districts with lower tax rates are much smaller (two have fewer than 500 students, one has fewer than 1,000 students), have only two or three schools, and have different tax bases.

District 58, combined with high school feeder District 99, collectively has the fourth lowest combined tax rate in DuPage County, when compared to all 44 DuPage school districts (elementary, high and unit districts). 

The senior exemption lowers the assessed value of your home. The increase in tax rate will have some impact and result in an increase in taxes, however not as much as to someone without the exemption. 

District 58 spends $15,030.96 per student, which is $966 per student less than the state average. Locally, 76% of DuPage County school districts spend more money per student than District 58. 

Here is the per student spending for all large elementary school districts in DuPage County. For context, nearby District 181 in Hinsdale spends $6,491 more per student each year. Multiplied by our current enrollment (4,999 students as of May 2022), District 58 would have an additional $31.8 million to spend each year. That’s more than 40% of the District’s current budget.

Source: Illinois State Board of Education, 2021

The referendum is for bonds for capital work. Since the per student spending information in state report cards does not include capital fund spending or debt payments, the referendum does not have an impact on the spending per student. The current expenditure per student is $15,031 for the District. 

Expenditure per student is the operational expenditure per student, and does not include capital funds from bond issues, or debt payments. The potential referendum being considered is for the purpose of updating District facilities. 

Additionally, some districts are also able to borrow larger amounts without seeking voter approval. The State passed a law in 1991 that restricted school districts to issuing non-referendum debt equal to its 1991 debt level. District 58 had very little debt then. This means that while many other school districts can borrow large sums of money without seeking voter approval, District 58 cannot. This limits District 58’s ability to fund critical, but costly, facility projects without a referendum.

The District has not invested any significant level into its facilities in many years. The potential referendum is being considered to maintain and update our facilities. Additionally, new secure entrances to ensure individuals entering do not have immediate access to students is an important update at all the buildings. The last successful referendum that addressed facility improvements (not including construction of new schools or additions) was 1950. Requirements for schools have changed significantly over that time, and systems that are used to operate facilities have also changed. 

The middle school additions (to accommodate sixth graders) would add square footage, and the District would incur a modest cost increase to maintain these new spaces. However, several elementary schools are overcrowded or near capacity, and in need of additional space, which would be provided when sixth grade moved to the middle school. 

Several of the proposed projects, such as roof and boiler replacements, would lower annual maintenance costs through energy savings.

District 58 actively seeks grants to support its schools. For example, District 58 recently received nearly $1.5 million in grant funding from the State of Illinois to support elementary school playground improvements. Learn more here. These funds are being combined with local fundraising efforts and some District funds to update District 58’s playgrounds. Those projects were not included in the $179 million being sought.  

District 58’s Master Facility Plan contains $245 million in capital needs. The level of funding needed for the capital projects required would require a significant reduction in staff and programs. District 58 is a very lean district compared to many other similar school districts. Teacher salaries are competitive with surrounding districts, and administrative salaries only comprise 2.2% of District 58’s budget, which is less than 90% of school districts in Illinois.

A TIF, or tax increment financing, is a public financing method that incentivizes economic development by calculating the increase in property taxes resulting from new or redevelopment and diverting that revenue to instead subsidize the project. Downers Grove created a TIF for downtown Downers Grove businesses 23 years ago, and it expired last year. The year a TIF expires, the entire TIF district is added as new property for the tax cap calculation. In other words, District 58 will now be able to capture the taxes associated with all of the new growth and new property from downtown Downers Grove businesses from the last 23 years. This is estimated to be $1.4 million a year in operating funds. 

The Board of Education also approved the 2023-2027 five-year financial plan at the end of April 2022, which includes a provision to transfer $1 million a year from operating funds to capital each year to use toward items in the Master Facility Plan, as well as other program needs of the District. The District accounted for the TIF funding when creating its Master Facility Plan and five-year financial plan.

District 58 received or is eligible for approximately $3 million in ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds from the federal government. By law, ESSER funds must be used to prevent, prepare for or respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the social, emotional, mental health and academic needs of students. District 58 appropriately used and will use its ESSER funding for these purposes. The District did not receive the level of funding some other districts did in order to use those on capital updates to facilities. 

Here is a sample of the ways District 58 is using its ESSER funds during school years 2020-2024: 

• New cleaning equipment and supplies to combat spread of COVID-19
• HEPA air filters for nurse’s offices
• Staff and student protective items including face shields and masks 
• Smaller desks for lunch and learning that allowed for social distancing to meet CDC guidelines to continue in-person learning 
• Storage rental at every school site for items not able to be used during COVID-19
• Updates and subscriptions to technology needed for remote learning
• Tents for outside mask breaks during inclement weather during the initial year of the pandemic
• Additional staffing and instructional supplies for learning loss and social and emotional support to assist students and staff during and post-COVID through the 2023-2024 school year
• Summer instructional programs during the summers of 2022 and 2023 to help students with learning loss during the pandemic 

The District is limited by the property tax extension limitation law or tax cap. District 58 has one of the lowest tax rates in DuPage County. In recent years the District has requested its legal limit each year. 

All of the District financials are posted on the District website, including the annual financial reports prepared by our independent auditor. Those annual financial reports have multiple years of tax levy information. https://www.dg58.org/about/finance-transparency/index.

The State of Illinois creates an annual report card that includes financial information for every school district. https://www.illinoisreportcard.com.

The maximum number of years allowed by federal law for this type of bond issue is 20 years. The rate of 25 cents (increasing the rate from the current 1.98 to 2.23) is based on a current conservative growth pattern of valuation. If the District experiences higher growth during that time, it is likely the rate will decrease.