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4 news March 2, 2018 W MAKING Although no architectural drawings have been formally fabricated, District 207 is in the process of planning for future construction at Maine West. Before ground can be broken, however, the district needs to acquire the funding to do so. Consequently, District 207 needs to pass a referendum to raise local property taxes. This referendum on the tax increase would be on the ballot this November at the earliest, according to district officials, and voters would get to choose whether or not district residents will fund construction plans, including large projects at Maine South and Maine East. Behind this construction lies a number of motivations, but primarily, as assistant superintendent of finance Mary Kalou explained, “In 2012 we BY CATHERINE BUCHANIEC editor-in-chief did our first facility master plan and it was all about boilers and rooftop units and roofs and parking lots -- we’ve spent $30 million fixing some stuff. Then last year, we went how we teach, how students learn, and what school is like, is very different from the 50s and the 60s when these buildings were built, but none of that was reflected in the 2012 plan. We needed to take a step back and look at what needed to be updated from not only an infrastructure standpoint but from what does teaching and learning look like now and into the future.” Following this decision, the district then sent out an optional survey last spring regarding building facilities to all students across the three Maine Township schools -- West, East, and South -- in order to gauge the opinions of those who were in the building every day. In total, 215 students at West responded. From there, feedback from PLANS EMERGE FOR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION AND REFERENDUM teachers, department chairs, and administrators was taken in order to gain a holistic viewpoint of the district’s buildings. Additionally, administrators toured high schools in the surrounding area that had recently undergone construction, specifically New Trier, Stevenson, Naperville, Addison Trails, and Huntley. The main takeaway, Kalou explained, was the notion of a commons area. “One of the biggest differences between the 50s and the 60s and now is the amount of time students collaborate during the learning process. Yet, there’s really no space for students to go and collaborate. That’s what created the concept of a commons -- a space in the center of the building for kids to come out.” Consequently, within drafts of future construction ideas, a commons is reflected as being a replacement for the caf, even potentially extending down to the former PIT fitness center area through a wide, open staircase. Whether or not this staircase will be included in the final plans, however, is still being analyzed. “The goal was to create spaces in the center of the building where students have the chance to ‘win what they need.’ If you need to see your counselor, your counselor’s in that area. If you need to eat, eating is in that area. If you want to eat quick and go to the library, it’s pretty close. In that space is everything you would want to do during your free periods,” Kalou said. Although the specifics of construction change from draft to draft, several key themes carry over: a secured front entrance, a field house, right-sizing visual arts classrooms, and more flexible classroom furniture. Only after the referendum passes will the district start the 12-15 month process of designing the spaces. In a Westerner survey of 140 students, only three percent of students said that current classroom furniture doesn’t work for what students need to do, but many hoped money would be spent on continuing bathroom renovations, securing the school’s main entrance, and hiring more custodians, teachers, and athletic trainers to make the school cleaner and lower class sizes and wait times.
W March 2, 2018 news 5 Due to the nature of Maine West’s current front entrance, the administration likewise sees opportunities for addressing security concerns. “Right now, you buzz in, but if you want to, you can go upstairs or you can go anywhere because the check-in desk is beneath the staircase. We’re talking about having an area where a person comes in and gets cleared before being able to enter the rest of the building, whether it be removing some doors or doing a bump-out or something,” Kalou said. One of the largest changes involves repurposing the B-Wing and C-Wing gyms to 25% OF STUDENTS THINK MAINE WEST SHOULD ASK FOR A TAX REFERENDUM* be rooms and making a field house instead. The visual arts classes are the most likely classes to receive the current B-Wing or C- Wing gym space. The other gym will likely be converted into classrooms, RtI, or other student assistance and meeting space. A field house, with an indoor track, court space, and new locker rooms, will be constructed in the E-Wing parking lot, attached to the current fitness center hallway. Throughout the building, the administration is hoping to add spaces for student support, such as for programs such as RtI, and dedicated spaces for extracurriculars. The district will also be expanding the CTE department. “We have $300,000 from [Rivers] casino to build a culinary kitchen. We got the money over the course of eight years because they were looking for a tie-in for jobs that they needed and programs that the school offered and what they needed was cooks for the casino,” Kalou said. Yet, some facilities are currently not being slated for major renovation, including the pool locker rooms Draft #5 of the construction plan shows visual arts classes moving to a renovated C-Wing gym, student supports expanding to fill B-Wing gym, and the construction of a field house at the end of the fitness hallway. center which are only slated for a “light renovation.” However, in a Westerner survey of 140 students, when asked about what construction initiatives they believe Maine West should undertake, the response that appeared most frequently was the pool locker rooms. Additionally, although upper E-Wing is one of the few areas that has not seen renovation within the past few decades, the music department and its practice rooms are not part of the plans for changes. Kalou, however, explained, “the district takes $5 million every year and puts it towards facilities in order to maintain and do what you need to do. I don’t want to say that we’re never going to do anything to the music rooms because we’re going to accomplish as many priorities as we can with this master plan and then keeping going on this list of priorities until we can do as much of them as we can.” All in all, if the referendum passes, the district will then start the 12-15 month design process. After the design process is complete, the building’s construction will be staged in order to create the least disruption of school activities and the construction will go for bid. After reviewing initial proposals describing the major themes of construction, junior Leah Kuhn, a Principal’s Leadership Team member explained, “Since different kids learn in different ways it is important for us to include multiple spaces that are best suited for each individual student in order for them to be as successful as possible. I think that it’s very important that we keep our school updated because we spend so much time here so of course we want it to be a pleasant place.” *from a Westerner survey of 140 responses FINALLY, A FIELD HOUSE BY DOMINIK BRONAKOWSKI sports editor After years of complaints from students and staff about the lack of a field house at Maine West, change may be coming: the construction of a fieldhouse has been placed as a priority as the district plans to gain funding for construction through a future referendum. After long consideration, planners are aiming to construct an attached field house in E-wing parking lot, after determining that a free-standing building near Oakton Street was not the ideal choice. Currently, the plan is for B-Wing and C-Wing gyms to no longer be used for sports and to be converted into classrooms or student assistance spaces instead. “Physical Education courses are taught in the wing gyms at this time, and we would need to meet the needs of the courses offered [within the new field house]. By eliminating the B-Wing and C-Wing gyms, we would also be losing a significant number of lockers, so that would need to be addressed,” athletic director Jarett Kirshner explained regarding the plans ahead. The field house has not yet been fully designed, and therefore, no specifics as to the minute details or features of the field house have been determined. “Ideally the track should be a 200 meter track with eight laps to the mile, but 10 laps to the mile would be adequate. The field house needs to be able to facilitate all of the field events as well like the shot put, high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault. Anything less than that from a Maine South’s fieldhouse has a 4-lane track. track and field standpoint would be a waste of taxpayer dollars,” head track and field coach Andrew Trotter said. The size of the fieldhouse currently being devised is of similar measurements to Maine South’s, according to Kalou. She said the layout of the fieldhouse is still being manipulated in order to maximize both court space and track space. However, “it is still not a competition size track, it is almost a competition size, but the cost of building a competition size field house would mean putting the fieldhouse as a separate structure incurring additional costs just to hold a track meet,” assistant superintendent Mary Kalou said. In regards to court space, the space is currently being planned in order contain three full-size competition courts that then can be divided into four practicesized courts. With the associated construction planned for the main building, these new courts would replace the courts found within two wing gyms. Currently, B-Wing and C-Wing gyms each have one competition court which is then split up into a total of two practice courts. Overall, the new fieldhouse would gain athletics one competition court. Planners have struggled with finding the right space to locate the field house. Kalou explained that although Maine West owns the property by the football stadium and fields, building anything on the other side of Warrior Way would be both difficult and costly. “We don’t technically own the property between Warrior Way and the edge of the spec; it is owned by a natural gas company. We can’t pass utilities across that line or build over it. If we were to put major infrastructure over here, that means we can’t tie any water or any electrical to the existing building.” Because of the size constraints for a new fieldhouse, not all are in favor of the current location and size of the proposed construction. “I believe none of the construction will be beneficial to the basketball teams, if we trade two gyms for them to be shared in one spot. It is going to be more distracting since there is an overlap of boys and girls basketball seasons. We are not really gaining anything with the current plans,” head girls basketball coach Kim DeMarigny said. Another intent of the fieldhouse would be to centralize and cluster athletics in one part of the building. “I believe the construction of the field house will make Maine West a safer place and makes sense for visitors because they won’t have to wander around the school wondering where all the gyms are,” junior Rachel Kent, a varsity basketball player and Principal’s Leadership Team member, explained.
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