Families across Indian Prairie School District 204 are seeing the results of the $420 million bond referendum they approved in November 2024.

The district has completed or started $198 million in safety and infrastructure projects so far.

Chief School Business Official Matt Shipley delivered the progress report to the District 204 school board on Monday, Oct. 19, covering two summers of construction under the district's "Safer, Stronger 204" program, NCTV17 reported.

Another $100 million in work is scheduled to begin in 2027. The eight-year program carries a total budget of $466 million.

The 51-year-old Waubonsie Valley High School has seen the most work so far.

Completed projects there include auditorium renovations, a new stadium with turf field, an upgraded technology and engineering education suite and an elevator replacement.

The cafeteria is on track to open to students in January, with atrium and library renovations also underway.

"Safety and security was our No. 1 priority coming out of the 2024 referendum," Shipley said, according to NCTV17. He said the work at Waubonsie started first because of the building's age.

At Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, the cafeteria modernization, forum room renovations, turf field replacement and LED lighting upgrades are complete.

Additions to the front and back of the building are underway and expected to be finished for the 2027-28 school year, when freshmen are scheduled to move back into the main building from the adjacent Kathryn Birkett Freshman Center.

That consolidation is projected to save the district an estimated $2 million a year.

Shipley said the Birkett Center is on schedule for occupancy by the STEPS and Gail McKinzie programs, which serve students with disabilities and high schoolers in an alternative program.

Security upgrades two-thirds complete

More than 250 new entrance doors are already in use across the district. The district is two-thirds of the way through adding secure vestibules and new entrance doors at all schools.

The board approved $6.3 million in bids for vestibule work at seven of eight schools slated for improvements next summer.

Schools in line include Prairie Children Preschool, Brookdale, Brooks, Owen, Peterson, Steck and Watts elementaries, and Hill Middle School.

Hill is also set for a larger $38 million renovation, with architect Wight & Company of Darien hired at a base fee of 7% of the project cost. That work is expected to begin in 2027, NCTV17 reported in November 2025. Gregory Middle School is scheduled for major renovations after Hill.

Emergency repairs show referendum flexibility

Referendum funding also covered a $400,000 emergency wall repair at Welch Elementary after officials discovered a masonry issue in a second-floor classroom late this past summer.

Shipley said the district paid for the work from capital funds under the referendum's general infrastructure priority without dipping into operating funds.

Board member Catey Genc praised the pace of work, telling Shipley the board heard two things consistently throughout his presentation: "on time and on budget."

What District 204 families should know: Peterson Elementary and Steck Elementary in Naperville are among the schools slated for new secure vestibules next summer.

Neuqua Valley additions are expected to wrap by the 2027-28 school year, when freshmen return to the main building and the STEPS and Gail McKinzie programs move into the Birkett Center.