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The end is in sight? Geneva schools plan for final build-out.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Harry Hitzeman Daily Herald Staff Writer

Members of Geneva Citizens for Excellent Schools have been busy since January.

They've talked to civic groups, held neighborhood coffees and freckled Geneva lawns and parkways with nearly 400 lawn signs promoting District 304's $79.9 million building plan.

Tuesday, voters will decide whether the school leaders will move forward with the first step toward the district's "final build-out" of more than 7,400 students.

Since 1992, the district's student population has more than doubled - from 2,878 to 5,854 in 2006.

"The good thing about this is it is a proactive plan," said Superintendent Kent Mutchler.

No rate increase

District leaders say their plan to build two elementary schools and improve others is the first step toward 2012, when the district is expected to stop growing.

The school board voted unanimously to put the question on Tuesday's ballot after a long master planning process with plenty of community input, Mutchler said.

If voters endorse the measure, the district plans to restructure its debt so the tax rate that property owners pay toward repaying loans will remain the same.

Last year, the owner of a $300,000 home paid about $4,729 to the school district, based on the district's overall tax rate of $4.90 per $100 of equalized...

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