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Facility Referendum

The Fenton Marching Band participates in the Wood Dale Memorial Day Parade
 
Para leer este artículo en español, haga clic en la bandera en la esquina inferior derecha y cambie el idioma.
 
 
 
Thank you for your desire to learn more about the Fenton High School facilities referendum. The proposed $65 million plan will be on the March 19, 2024 ballot. This webpage is intended to generate engagement by providing important information about our community-driven plan to modernize the school our residents cherish. Please take advantage of all opportunities to visit the building and ask questions.

It's important to note: this webpage will be updated regularly. Visiting the school and being immersed in the topics seen on this webpage is still highly recommended.

If you would like to become more familiar with the day-to-day happenings at Fenton, please click here to view our Weekly Newsletter webpage. You are also welcome to read our annual Community Report. Otherwise, please keep reading to learn more about our referendum.

 

Referendum Town Hall

The community is invited to attend a Fenton High School Referendum Town Hall on Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m. This is a prime opportunity to see the school for yourself, speak with administrators, ask your own questions. All are invited!
 
Meet Fenton administrators and learn more about the proposed Referendum
Our Fenton High School District 100 community works together to ensure all our students become successful, passionate, empowered learners, but there’s one significant obstacle we just can’t overcome: the lack of space in our aging school building. 
 
We make do with what we have in our 1950s building, but our second-rate facilities are keeping our students from reaching their full potential.

Our infrastructure has been extended well beyond its useful life. Mechanical systems, plumbing, and electrical systems need to be addressed to keep the building safe and healthy. Our classrooms and learning areas are small and outdated. Our security system needs improvements. Air flow is inconsistent with some kids sweating in one room and others freezing in another, and the smell in our science and social studies wing is notorious.

This holds our students and teachers back in academics and extracurriculars. It creates significant safety concerns for everyone in our school. It packs our students into classrooms that lack the ability to foster innovation. 
 
 

We Heard You

In 2023 Fenton committed $10 million in cash reserves toward a water mitigation project to prevent future damage to our building, improve storm water management in the neighborhood, and to make our campus more consistently available for programing. 
 
This is an areal photo of a water storage tank being installed behind Fenton in summer/fall 2023.
 
The District also sold $32 million in non-referendum bonds for construction of a new STEM wing to elevate our science and technology curriculum. These projects position Fenton High School to keep pace with 21st Century Learning.
 
This is a rendering of Fenton's proposed STEM addition
 
This is a rendering of the main atrium and study area in Fenton's proposed STEM addition.
 
 
Both projects were modified from the original referendum proposal and are being accomplished without raising property taxes.
 
 

Moving Forward

If approved, this referendum would address the decades of decay and the needed upgrades to life-safety and infrastructure in the existing facility. 
 
We can create an even safer and more secure environment in our school building through updated security systems, door and window monitoring, electronic door locks, etc. We will also be able to better maintain our schools by addressing life safety and infrastructure needs such as mechanical systems, air flow, plumbing, bathrooms, sprinklers, electrical, emergency power, networking & cabling, corridors, asbestos abatement, and ADA compliance.
 
This image shows current pipes at Fenton compared to potential new pipes

We will improve our programming and career learning spaces so each and every student continues to have the opportunity to succeed in anything they choose. We’ll provide increased opportunities for students through applied tech, culinary, construction, health sciences, special education, and life skills programming.
 
 
This is a photo of Fenton's current culinary lab with students busy cooking

Culinary Now

 
This photo is of a culinary lab in another school

What's Possible

 
And we will be able to modernize and expand some of our existing classrooms. This will give us 21st century learning spaces with modern features to effectively implement current and future curriculum, facilitate collaboration, and allow for more individual and small group instruction. Additional and larger classrooms will provide more space for student collaboration, small group instruction, curriculum growth to include more engaging student activities, and student health and movement.
 
 

Our Kids Deserve Better

If these are the futures we want for our children, we must act now. Every year, the improvements needed at our school become more expensive, and this runs contrary to our efforts to make our district more fiscally responsible. We’ve taken important steps to control spending and ensure as much money as possible goes into classrooms and students. Fenton has the lowest bond and interest fund tax rate among high school districts in DuPage County and an overall tax rate that is significantly lower than the state average.
 
Students hold up Bison Pride shirts at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year