Mundelein High School will host a series of three building tours in September and October to inform the community about its upcoming referendum.
Each event will run from 7 to 8 p.m. at Mundelein High School, with the first tour scheduled for Wednesday, September 11. The next two events will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 1 and Thursday, Oct. 10. The District will also host an informational webinar regarding the referendum on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 17.
The $149.5 million referendum would fund a plan designed to replace aging infrastructure, upgrade instructional spaces, enhance career and technical education spaces, make health, safety and security improvements, and address overcrowding issues.
“We invite our community to visit the school in-person and get a better understanding of what our needs are and how it will benefit our students, staff and the community,” said Dr. Kevin Myers, Superintendent for Districts 75 and 120.
The tour will involve a 10-minute stop at six different stations including: the kitchen and cafeteria; the competition gymnasium; the band and choir rooms; traditional classrooms; and the auditorium. The sixth station will provide an overview of the finances involved. At each station, school officials will provide a brief presentation and answer questions.
The school, which opened in 1961, was designed to house 1,500 students. Current enrollment exceeds 2,200 and is expected to continue to grow, especially with the 740-acre Ivanhoe Farms housing development looming in Mundelein’s future.
Since voters rejected a previous referendum in 2023, District 120 down-sized its proposal, reducing the cost by $25 million and lowering the tax impact on the owner of a $300,000 house by 40 percent.
“We listened to the concerns of our community and made adjustments without changing our priorities,” Myers said. “At this point we want to make sure we inform the public and answer any questions people may have.”
If the current referendum passes, the project would replace much of the building’s original infrastructure which has reached the end of its useful life, improve the efficiency of mechanical systems and minimize costly repairs. The plan includes updates to fire safety systems and other health and safety issues including air quality, accessibility and overcrowding.
More classrooms would be added, health and wellness rooms would be centralized and more space would be allocated to Career & Technical Education so students could learn skills in building trades and manufacturing.
The school’s original kitchen and cafeteria will be upgraded to alleviate crowding, health and safety issues. The project will include additional classroom and storage space for the music program and a new multi-purpose fieldhouse for physical education and health and wellness classes, assemblies, performances, tournaments and community events.
More information is available on the District 120 website at www.d120.org/2024-proposal/.