Less than an hour after polling places closed in Harwood Heights, unofficial Cook County results showed voters approved a $35 million referendum for a building addition and improvements to Union Ridge School by 25 votes.
The Cook County Clerk’s Office website announced the result of the Union Ridge School District 86 ballot question around 7:49 p.m. on March 19. The results were 283 voting “yes” on the referendum question and 258 voting “no.” The “yes” vote had a 52.31% majority.
District 86 Superintendent Michael Maguire said he was shocked, pleasantly surprised and humbled when he saw that the referendum passed.
“I think the students are going to get the type of atmosphere that will continue to help them grow and develop as students,” he said.
Carolynn Cardone, a mother of a 7th, 5th, 3rd, and 1st grader at Union Ridge and a member of the organizing committee supporting the referendum, said she was excited to see the referendum results. “We worked so hard for this, and we were all praying for this,” she said. “There’s so many things that are needed for the school; the last time the school had any type of addition was in 1970.”
Before the vote, the district organized three meetings to educate the community on what was at stake and why the district was pursuing a referendum question.
Funds will go toward building eight new classrooms, two science labs, additional small-group instruction areas, a redesigned front office with modern security upgrades, two additional elevators to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, a new library, a relocated cafeteria, more storage space, a relocated parking lot away from Oak Park Avenue and improvements to the building to extend its use and increase energy efficiency, according to Maguire.
The one-school district located at 4600 N. Oak Park Ave., Harwood Heights, serves around 650 students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade in that suburb. Issuing $35 million in bonds will require property owners in the district with a home worth $306,500 to pay an additional $810 annually for 25 years, according to referendum information provided by the district.
Maguire said he understood residents’ concerns that the tax increase could be unaffordable for property owners. Maguire said, “It’s bittersweet because I do know that this will impact some residents in a very difficult way, given the financial times… I definitely do feel for those residents, that it will be difficult for them to manage.”
Cardone said she too could understand that it could be expensive, given the fact that her family of six relies on one income. She said that because it was for her children’s education, that it was an easy decision to get behind. For people who don’t have children, Cardone said there was a silver lining that their property value could go up.
Maguire said the next steps would be to figure out schedules for the improvements to be made to the school, and plan out how the district can implement the funds.
Maguire previously told Pioneer Press that Union Ridge, which opened in 1876 and was rebuilt in 1933 after a fire, has not been expanded since 1970. The last bond issue approved by voters was for $595,000 in 1967, he said.
Union Ridge students did not have class on Tuesday because both the school and Eisenhower Library served as polling places.
