The purpose of Glenbard District 87’s Facility Master Plan is to identify and address capital improvement needs at our four high schools. While our buildings are structurally sound, they are between 51 and 101 years old. We must make sure our educational spaces support today’s best practices in curriculum and instruction. Addressing these needs now allows us to continue to protect what matters most by avoiding expensive, future repairs. 

Glenbard began developing a new 10-year facility master plan in 2022, building on previous assessments and gathering community feedback on priorities. Students, parents, community members, educators and district leaders formed a team to discuss the future of District 87 and develop a responsible plan to address our facility needs. The process allowed hundreds of community members to be involved via board meetings, community engagement team meetings, facility planning community forums held at each school and a community-wide survey that had more than 1,400 individuals share their thoughts about next steps.

The previous 10-year facility plan concluded with the summer 2023 capital projects. These improvements prioritized warm, safe and dry maintenance and upgrades. Over that time frame, the district invested $154 million into facilities ($119 million from district operating budget and $35 million from 2014 referendum). This surpassed our commitment of $100 million in improvements, with no additional taxpayer funds utilized.

In March 2024, voters approved Glenbard’s $183 million facility improvements referendum that appeared on the ballot. 

Over the next 10 years, the district will fund an additional $129 million of improvements from its operating budget. This amount combined with the $183 million referendum comes to a total of $312 million for facility projects.

The district anticipates issuing bonds in spring 2025 for approximately 50% of the $183 million referendum work. The remaining funds are not anticipated to be needed until 2027.

Glenbard will monitor market conditions to ensure the district receives competitive interest rates and receives bond proceeds in time for when construction takes place.

Our 10-year facility master plan will address prioritized needs in the following areas:

Safety and Security

• Upgrades are needed for safety and security systems to keep up with today’s best practices.

Classroom and Science Lab Improvements

• Upgrade out-of-date science labs.
• Add windows and replace lighting and flooring where needed.
• Align classroom design with current best practices in curriculum and instruction.

Infrastructure

• When crucial infrastructure ages and becomes inefficient, operating costs increase, taking money away from instructional priorities.
• Continue to upgrade and renovate infrastructure items like roofs, windows, doors, electrical systems, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems.

Overcrowding

• Upgrade cafeteria space to eliminate overcrowding and provide flexible learning and program spaces.

Access to Student Support Services

• Relocation of commons areas to increase accessibility for student support services such as social workers and counselors.

To view the school-specific schematic design updates from October 2024, click the YouTube links below:

• East
• North
• South
• West
• District presentation (all schools)

All site plans are tentative and subject to change. The district’s Finance & Facilities Committee will meet quarterly to review updates to the design and construction process. Agendas for those meetings can be found here. 

View the schematic design presentation from the Glenbard Board of Education meeting on Sept. 23, 2024.
     * YouTube link
     * PDF slides link

Do you have a question about the Facility Master Plan? Fill out this feedback form.

Gilbane Building Company – Gilbane serves as the Construction Manager for the district, with the responsibility of overall project management inclusive of site supervision, safety management, scoping of work, and sequencing of all phases of work. Gilbane works closely with Wold Architects & Engineers and Performance Services Inc. to ensure all phases are fully coordinated with the safety of students and staff first in mind.

Performance Services, Inc. – PSI is an integrated design and construction company that offers architectural, engineering, construction management, and performance assurance services.

Wold Architects & Engineers – Wold provides the architectural designs for all construction projects. Wold also coordinates closely with district and school administrations to ensure facility improvement goals are addressed in the final designs.

Craig Lamp (Glenbard District 87) – As the district’s construction owner’s representative, Craig Lamp will manage the vendor contracts and ensure appropriate timelines and budgets are adhered to. With more than 40 years of construction experience, Lamp’s primary role is to represent the district’s best interests as we plan for and complete construction projects. 

Gilbane Cares
Gilbane Cares is our cornerstone commitment to safety – ensuring our people, partners, and communities are protected. We strive for zero incidents and injuries while maintaining the highest excellence in operations and project delivery. We believe that a holistic approach to safety – focusing on physical and mental health – are critical to safeguarding our team members, trade workers, and partners.

• 96% – Zero lost time injuries in 2023
• 8-time Safety Excellence Award winner from Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America
• 8-time STEP Diamond Award winner from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)

Through progressive safety programs and techniques, we continuously raise the bar by applying innovative processes, checks and balances and the latest technology. Combined with our industry-leading and award-winning training programs, we empower our people and project partners to embrace a true safety culture based on people, not statistics. Like family, we look out for each other each day – at home, in the office and on our construction projects, we are committed to ensuring that everyone returns home safely each night.

Gilbane Training, Education & Requirements
We believe education is the cornerstone of an effective safety program and as such, Gilbane Building Company remains one of the safest contractors in the country. Dedication to continual advancement has enabled us to implement some of the most progressive processes, systems, and programs in the business – several of which include:

• Incident and Injury Free training sessions
• Strong jobsite requirements including helmet protection and fall protection
• Stretch/Flex programs are implemented to reduce soft tissue injuries
• Supervisors are required to obtain a minimum 30-hour OSHA certification
• Advanced mobile SafetyNet audit system to conduct jobsite field inspections and record observations
• Detailed hazard analysis is conducted prior to construction

District 87 runs background checks for all construction workers involved in the on-site projects.

Questions or concerns? Contact Craig Lamp at [email protected] or 630-469-9100 ext. 2868.

To learn more about the March 2024 facility improvements referendum, visit the links below:

• Referendum FAQs
• Referendum details overview
• Referendum main page