Parents of tiny Avoca School District 37 are divided over a March 19 referendum that seeks $89.8 million in bonds to close one school in Glenview and build a new one in Wilmette.
If voters say yes to the request, District 37 plans to close Avoca West School, one of its three schools, and build a larger school on the current site of Marie Murphy School, the district’s middle school. District 37 serves portions of Glenview, Northfield, Wilmette and Winnetka.
Jasmina de la Torre, spokeswoman for Concerned Residents of Avoca District 37, said that spread over its proposed 25-year duration, the bond issue would cost the owner of a $600,000 home about $44,292 and the owner of a $3 million home nearly $230,000.
Natalie Anthony, an Avoca parent and member of the group, said the district’s request is not fiscally responsible.
“I’m saddened that our school district’s leadership would be so out of touch with the financial burden this bond would place on so many members of our community,” Anthony said. “Our district is economically diverse and families have already faced a recent property tax hike.”
District 37 Superintendent Kaine Osburn said members of the Board of Education, which approved placing the referendum on the ballot, are “very aware” of the impact the issue could have on the community.
“They have studied the financials and facility needs for almost three years,” Osburn said. “They did not come to that conclusion lightly. They recognize the community has always worked to invest in schools. They don’t take making that request lightly.”
Anthony said the proposed tax hike goes against the wishes of parents who voted in a fall 2023 survey about the district’s building needs. Osburn disputed her claim saying 56% of the more than 600 parents surveyed said they could support the proposal adopted by the board.
“That’s inaccurate,” he said of Anthony’s statement. “While there were many responses that indicated they could support a less expensive, less effective option, the board had to make the difficult decision of what’s best for schools, students and taxpayers in the long run.”
De la Torre claims the board manipulated the survey results because it wanted to build a new school and used professionals to sell the idea at various forums that she called “pure PR stunts.”
“Our community is better than that, and our community knows the community is better than a statement like that,” Osburn said. “We had multiple open houses. There was a committee led by parents, guardians, community members and staff. They spearheaded the process. It was done in good faith, and people had multiple opportunities to participate.”
Peter Leckerling, chairman of Vote Yes for Avoca, said it’s been 30 years since District 37 last issued bonds and 15 years since it last increased its tax rate, a measure that was intended to buoy district finances through 2016.
“The board and administration stretched it an extra eight years,” Leckerling said. “In the intervening decade and a half, our peer districts have invested $300 million in schools, and we haven’t asked for anything from the community. When you fund-raise, you can do it piecemeal, a little bit at a time or all at once.”
As a result of waiting so long, Leckerling said, District 37 has fallen behind other elementary districts that feed into New Trier Township High School District 203.
“We need to secure our future. What is on the ballot is the most cost-effective choice,” he said. “We simply cannot wait. Our schools continue to age and costs continue to rise.”
Avoca parent Alina Sharon said members of Concerned Residents of Avoca District 37 resent the notion that opposing the bond issue means they don’t care about their schools.
“On the contrary, we want to invest in Avoca and make it better, but believe there are smarter ways to upgrade infrastructure without overburdening taxpayers and without losing the school we all love,” Sharon said.
Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
