New Trier High School has used the 15-Year Facility Framework since 2019 to prioritize improvements for academics, athletics, infrastructure, safety, and environmental impact. Over the next 10 years, more projects are needed but the school may not have the funds to pay for most of it.  

$122.3 million has so far been invested in facilities using this framework, including the $79.5 million East Side Project and solar panel installation at the Northfield Campus and soon at the Winnetka Campus. 

With 55% of the Winnetka Campus renovated, school officials face financial roadblocks as they seek to modernize the remaining portions of the basement, first, second, and fourth floor, along with the Gaffney Auditorium, Bickert gyms, and 90-year-old pool. 

“We have all these needs, but we haven’t identified a clear funding source for all of them,” Associate Superintendent Dr. Chris Johnson said. 

Johnson wrote to the New Trier Board of Education in January that the school is “financially strong” in the near term. Later on, he wrote that “additional revenue beyond normal sources will likely be required to fund both district operations and to continue to improve facilities.” 

New Trier’s budget is created based on property taxes raised yearly based on changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The school can levy two types of taxes, with the permission of voters through a referendum, when it needs more money. 

One way is to raise taxes beyond the CPI, which occurred last in 2003. The second way is to purchase bonds from the bank, which taxpayers would pay over a set time. This last happened in 2014 when New Trier took out $89 million in bonds for the $104.9 million West Side project. A $174 million referendum in 2010 sought to remodel the West and East side of the school, but residents defeated it 62.96% to 37.04%. 

The New Trier Board of Education considers many factors when holding referendums. 

“It is a thoughtful multi-year process evaluating needs related to facilities, developing plans to address those needs, analyzing costs of those plans, and sharing those needs with the community for their feedback before any decision is made,” board member and former president Keith Dronen said via email. 

According to Board President Jean Hahn, the board does not currently need to pursue a referendum to make more investments in facilities. 

The school funded the East Side Project without the need for a referendum, the case for every project so far under the 15-Year Facility Framework. Johnson said with the forecasted CPI increases, the school plans to use money from the budget to pay the bank back $50 million in bonds over the next 20 years. 

The same is true for a recently approved $35.3 million project to renovate parts of the North Building and Tower Building, built in 1934 and 1957, respectively, at the front of the Winnetka Campus. Construction is set for the summers of 2026 and 2027.

The renovation of the third floor of the North and Tower buildings occurred during the summers of 2020 and 2021. 

The project aims to add three science laboratories, allowing more science classes to stay in the same space during on and off lab days. It also improves security as the administrative and student services spaces are moved from the second floor of the Tower building to the first floor of the North building. 

“The move will ensure easy and fast access to the [administrative] spaces and also an easy exit,” Director of Campus Safety Raimond Pavely said via email. 

The 1964 Northfield Campus pool is also a priority, and school officials are looking at how to turn it into a new aquatics center.

Aquatics Coordinator Josh Runkle said the Northfield and Winnetka pools are used throughout the year. During the school year, the pools are often in use from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. New Trier Aquatics, a private club, also rents the pools. 

Runkle said the constant use has “beaten up” the Northfield pool. It is drained for three weeks yearly for regrouting. The Winnetka pool is drained roughly once every three years. 

“It’s funny because, you see this brand-new, beautiful [athletics] facility, and we’ve got a pretty old setup right now,” Runkle said. “We would love to have an aquatic facility that is on par with this, but hopefully one day.”

A new aquatics center would cost between $35 million and $50 million, according to an estimate from Johnson. 

Beyond the facility work, school officials also direct resources to carry out the comprehensive, strategic plan, New Trier 2030, which supported the establishment of the Special Education Transition Center in Glencoe, Illinois, maintaining low student-to-teacher ratios, and forming the Graduating Class Teams.

Over the next few years, school officials expect to temporarily cut costs with changes in student enrollment and staffing. 

Student enrollment is expected to reach a low point during the 2028-2029 school year, with 3,546 students. The school takes in the same amount of revenue regardless of student enrollment, meaning it saves money with fewer students. 

Johnson said the school needs that money later on to pay teachers and fund athletics and performing arts once student enrollment picks up during the 2029-2030 school year. 

25% of faculty members are retiring by 2029. As they are replaced with teachers with less experience, they start out making less money, but as they gain more experience, they move up the school’s 27-step pay ladder. 

As the school plans for the end of the decade, Johnson said they may not have enough funding sources to keep up with an increase in students and facility needs. 

“We may need to go back to the community to see what other options are available,” Johnson said.