As a student, walking through the halls of the west campus of New Trier High School, it is very clear that the school needs some major fixing.
The school founded in 1901, is over 100 years old, and it shows it. Its got a certain smell that only a Trevian would be able to take, and the community agreed that it is about time to change that. Knowing that the school needs a little TLC, the administration proposed a renovation plan that required a referendum. This past Tuesday, New Trier Township tallied all the votes and the referendum passed.
The Cook County Clerk's website on Wednesday showed 65 percent of voters in favor and 35 percent against the measure to increase taxes to pay for the renovation project. The few stipulations for this referendum were that the school was asking to borrow $89 million for a projected $100 million project. With this, community members should expect to see about a 1.7% increase in their property taxes. This would mean that someone paying $15,000 for their property taxes would have to pay an additional $250.
As a student who attends the school, I would say that $250 is so worth it. The facilities that we use are very old. It feels like we are stuck in the mid 1900's while other schools are more modern. Recently a study came out ranking the top high schools in the nation and New Trier was number 20, behind our competitors GBS, GBN and Stevenson. As a school that prides itself on being a top notch institution encompassing academics, athletics and the arts, I feel that one of the ways to stay in that category is updating and maintaining those facilities. Compared to four years ago, when the school tried and failed to pass a different renovation plan that would borrow $174 million, it seems reasonable that this would be passable. People like Wes Bauman, former principle, didn't support the 2010 referendum because they "
Love New Trier! But not a $174 million plan rich in Unnecessary spending.." I feel very strongly that this is a good thing to pass and that it is a issue that has been needed to be addressed for a long while.
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| Projected Renovation of New Trier |
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| New Tier High School |
Jen,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I completely agree with you that New Trier is long overdue for a makeover, I think that some people have a point about not wanting to pay the increase tax. The school is not going to be fully renovated for a couple years, which means we will be off at college by the time new students can enjoy the school. For people like my parents who are done sending their kids through the New Trier school system, they would prefer not to spend the extra money renovating a school that won't benefit them. New Trier is such an attractive school already that it is not like people won't want to move to the area because it is so old.