Student Enrollment

Increasing student enrollment is one of the primary challenges District 300 is seeking to address through the bond referendum on the November 3 general election ballot.

District 300 is the sixth-largest school district in Illinois, with approximately 20,000 students. Student enrollment is projected to grow by more than 4,000 students over the next 10 years, enough to fill two high schools. Nearly 3,000 of those students are expected in the western part of the district.

Currently, nearly one-third of District 300 schools are at or near capacity.

When a school is at or near capacity, crowding can extend beyond classrooms into hallways and cafeterias, and traffic may increase during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal.

Also, classroom space is one factor that can limit course availability. When demand for a course exceeds available seats, some students may be unable to enroll.

For example, Hampshire Middle School is projected to exceed its capacity by 2029. That school was built in 1948 and has seen its student population increase each academic year since at least 2020.

If the referendum is approved, it would help fund classroom additions, renovations, and larger common spaces across the district.

If voters approve the bond referendum, it would help fund more than 20 proposed projects across District 300’s three high school feeder patterns: Dundee-Crown, Hampshire and Jacobs.

Several of these projects are intended to help schools accommodate current and anticipated enrollment growth through improvements such as:

• Classroom additions
  
  
• Classroom and facility renovations
  
  
• Student support and common space expansions

In addition to the improvements listed above, the bond referendum, if approved, would help fund cafeteria projects at eight schools. These projects are intended to provide additional dining space and help those schools accommodate current and projected enrollment.

At schools where a new cafeteria would be built, the existing cafeteria space could be repurposed for additional classrooms, presentation labs, student support spaces, and offices.

District 300 has developed several resources to help families and community members better understand projected enrollment growth and the improvements being proposed.

Visit www.d300.org/Bond to access:

• A bond referendum video series that includes:
  
  
• A video explaining proposed improvements at the district schools where increasing student enrollment would be addressed
  
  
• A video detailing the increasing student enrollment at Hampshire Middle School and the proposed projects at that school.

• Proposed Projects Guides for individual schools

• Answers to frequently asked questions

• A tax calculator to estimate the potential financial impact for an individual property

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Early voting is available through Monday, November 2.

Questions about the referendum can be emailed to Bond@d300.org.