Frequently Asked Questions

The district will have $20 million to spend on building improvements over the next 10 years. Only the highest priority needs will be addressed, such as a leaking pipe, leaking roof or replacing an air conditioner that goes out. Most districts in this area are in the process of or have completed building improvements, so our schools will continue to deteriorate while others are improved. Enrollment increases will need to be dealt with on a year-to-year basis. When we last experienced a bump in enrollment at Meadowbrook, class sizes increased to accommodate new students. At Greenbriar, Spanish and science do not have an assigned classroom and instead, the specials teachers move classroom to classroom “on a cart.” We have little room at any school for more students.

The district’s schools are between 60 and 75 years old. The district has annual maintenance and building repair projects that have been funded by operating funds without borrowing. Recognizing the age of the buildings and that repairs are getting more critical and more expensive, the Board of Education hired DLA Architects in 2023 to complete a comprehensive 10-Year Facilities Master Plan. The 528-page plan was compiled with input from specialists in mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems; civil engineering; demographics; roofing; and building security. 

The firm collected input on learning environments and priorities for improvements from parents, students and staff in spring 2023.  The study recommended $80 million of potential building improvements for the four buildings over 10 years in the areas of accessibility, life safety, operation and maintenance, and capital improvements. The district identified $20 million it could fund over 10 years, and trimmed $3.6 million as work that could be completed in-house. 

Meadowbrook School opened in 1954. It was designed for three sections for each grade. Over the past several years, Meadowbrook has taken the majority of the slowly rising enrollment and currently has three grades with five sections and classes at capacity in another grade. Additional grade-level sections use up space previously used for special classes including Spanish – taught to all classes grades 1-5; science lab and gifted/talented. The high enrollment has squeezed physical education, lunch, bathroom and library facilities. The building’s systems are at the end of their useful life, and the building is not readily accessible with just one elevator, multiple staircases and two levels. The building entrance is not up to modern security standards. The amount of renovation and expansion is more than 60% of the replacement cost. Replacing the building will ensure low maintenance costs for years to come.

As part of the Facilities Master Plan, a professional demographic study of the district was conducted. It first looked at projected growth without new development. It then reviewed possible development areas and estimated growth. Five-year enrollment projections as of January 2024 were an average increase of 60 students overall with no new housing development. The areas targeted for development, including Northbrook Court are predicted to result in another 66 new students. This is why we are adding a few classrooms to each school in this plan.

Meadowbrook School was built for three sections at each grade. There are three grades that have four sections this year, and the school is in desperate need of space. The district is moving ahead with the design for the gymnasium at Meadowbrook, which will be built regardless of the referendum outcome. The new school will seamlessly connect with the new gym and will be built as the second phase of construction. If the referendum fails, the gym will be connected to the existing building via a sheltered walkway.

If the referendum is approved, the next step is a design phase for each building. This phase included gathering input from staff, student and the community. The first phase of additions at Greenbriar, Westmoor and Northbrook Junior High and the new school Meadowbrook School would break ground in spring 2026.

Each elementary school operates lunch in multipurpose rooms with no sinks, or other facilities. The new cafetoriums will provide each school with the capacity to serve hot lunch with a service line and space for warming carts and refrigeration. The new cafeteria at Northbrook Junior High includes a kitchen big enough to serve as a satellite kitchen to prepare hot lunches for the elementary schools. The flexible space can be converted into performance space and allow for winter concerts and spring musicals to set up, rehearse and perform without blocking out the gymnasiums during these times. The desire to create space for hot lunch at elementary schools was identified by the community during our fall community engagement workshops. Cafeterias were part of the plan already for Meadowbrook, Greenbriar and Northbrook Junior High to address space needs. The old cafeterias will be converted into classrooms in all four buildings.

The new designs at each school will allow for community use with permission after school hours of both the cafetoriums and gymnasiums.

The original wing, which is 75 years old, will be demolished and replaced with a new cafeteria, flexible performance area and stage. New art and music classrooms will also be included in that area, taking them out of the basement. The existing multipurpose room/cafeteria will be remodeled into two classrooms. Before that renovation starts, we will build an 11-classroom wing off the existing new gymnasium and add another bathroom.

More than $20 million of repairs and maintenance will be paid for with existing district funds. A look at neighboring school district building plans shows that costs continue to climb.  The last successful bond referendum was in 1967 for additions to Westmoor and Meadowbrook schools. Waiting longer will only cost more:

• Maple School (District 30)
  • $36 million referendum April 4, 2017
• Highland Park North Shore District 112
  • $114 million referendum November 2022 (72% approval)
  • 14 schools modernization and security 
• Winnetka District 36
  • $59.4 million referendum November 2022 

District 28 has dedicated operating funds to building maintenance and additions since it retired debt in 1981. Below is a spending history of the last 15 years. Because all the schools were built within 15 years of each other, major building systems are wearing out at the same time. We also need to update facilities to meet the needs of today's learners and safety and security practices.

• 2010-2011 $4.7 million - Northbrook Junior High new fine arts/fitness/media wing 
• 2014-15 $10.6 million - Westmoor early childhood addition, building & office security renovations, parking lot/pickup/drop-off improvements, roof replacement
• 2015-16 $399,344 - Westmoor gym floor replacement & space remodels
• 2016-17 $316,710 - Greenbriar & Meadowbrook playground repaving
• 2017-18 $339,667   - Northbrook Junior High asbestos removal
• 2018-19 $536,380  -  Northbrook Junior High generator & carpet replacement and life-safety improvements
• 2019-20 $1,280,353 - Meadowbrook carpet and classroom cabinetry replacement, and total interior repainting
• 2020-21 $266,181 - Meadowbrook HVAC and security upgrades
• 2021-22 $726,090 - Greenbriar and Northbrook Junior High roofing replacement and security system upgrades
• 2022-23 $664,734 - Greenbriar and Meadowbrook HVAC and NBJH elevator replacement
• 2023-24 $715,000 - Greenbriar roof replacement and HVAC, Greenbriar office remodel for efficiency and security, refinish gym floors at Greenbriar and NBJH; District Office remodel and update for efficiency.

The District’s annual revenue through local property taxes is collected as a lump sum, called the tax levy. The district is limited by the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, to an annual increase of 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, plus new construction. One can look at the property tax levy as a pie. In essence, each individual property tax bill is a piece of that pie, and each piece fluctuates in size based on the Equalized Assessed Value set by the Cook County Assessor, but the size of the pie the district receives stays the same. Decreases occur through property tax appeals and declining property value. 

Property tax revenue accounts for 80% of District 28’s total revenue.

The Board of Education approved moving forward with the construction of the Meadowbrook gym in February, regardless of the outcome of the April 1 bond referendum. Through the Facilities Master Plan process, the need for a new gymnasium was identified as a key solution to alleviate scheduling constraints within the building. The gym is projected to cost between $6.5 million and $7.5 million. If the referendum is not approved April 1, funds for construction will come from a short-term borrowing option available for smaller amounts called a debt certificate and will be repaid through the operating funds that have already been earmarked for capital improvements.

You can use the tax calculator on our referendum page to enter the specific amount for your house. As a frame of reference and for ease of calculating, the bond referendum would increase the taxes on property valued at $500,000 about $1.70 a day, $51.81 per month, $621.70 per year.

Northbrook Junior High will need roofing, HVAC and tuckpointing work. We are going to improve safety and security by reconfiguring the entrance vestibule and front office. We're going to renovate the bathrooms with original plumbing and move the original bathrooms located in the stairwells to more accessible locations. The electrical and alarm systems also need updating to meet current building codes.There is a cafetorium addition and a new hub in the center of the building that will allow students to move freely from the original part of the building in front to the fine arts wing adjacent to the gymnasium. The cafeteria will allow for flexible performance space and have a kitchen big enough to serve as a satellite kitchen to prepare hot lunch for the elementary schools.

Westmoor will get an addition on the back of the gymnasium for a cafetorium space. The new space will allow room for hot lunches and provide a flexible performance space. Westmoor's HVAC systems are obsolete and need to be updated and there will be an additional bathroom added in a classroom wing where there are none. All schools will also get updated, accessible playgrounds.