Frequently Asked Questions

If the proposal is approved by voters, the district would be able to generate $6 million annually, giving the District the ability to create additional classroom spaces at each of our four schools while other funds will be used to staff, maintain, and support these additional classrooms in order to keep class sizes reasonable. The timeline for planning and construction would be developed quickly but could take up to two years to build the additions onto each building. Please refer to the presentation linked at the top of the webpage for more details.

The District would need to continue evaluating ways to accommodate enrollment within its existing facilities and resources, including increasing class sizes, further repurposing instructional spaces and other operational or facility alternatives. Class sizes would continue to increase and the District would have to continue to assess next steps. Additionally, larger spaces in the schools like Library Resource Centers or dedicated specials’ classrooms may need to be transformed into general education classrooms with those programs either becoming mobile (on carts) or being eliminated.

In Illinois education, the "limiting rate" is the maximum property tax rate a school district can levy for funds subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL). It acts as a revenue control mechanism, capping a district's annual property tax extensions to the lesser of 5% or the rate of inflation (CPI).

Yes. This is actual enrollment growth—not simply projected growth based on future housing developments. SD113A is currently at the highest enrollment level in the District’s history, exceeding our previous historical peak. Enrollment has grown nearly 26% over the past decade, and actual enrollment has exceeded projections from previous demographic studies.

Importantly, this growth is not coming from one source. We are seeing students enter SD113A as existing homes turn over to younger families, students transfer into the District from private and parochial schools, and new families move into the community. New residential development is certainly another factor, but much of the growth we are experiencing today has occurred before we have seen the full student impact of newer developments such as Glen Eagles.

The District’s enrollment data already show record growth independent of the students those developments may ultimately generate. As a recent example, at last night's Board meeting, I reported that we have had 29 new students enroll into the District since last month's Board meeting.

The District has been actively planning for growth. We commissioned independent demographic studies in 2017, 2024, and again in 2026. Each of these studies were conducted in collaboration with Lemont High School and the Village of Lemont. Actual enrollment met or exceeded even the highest projections from 2017 and 2024, and enrollment last year was more than 500 students higher than projected in the 2017 study.

The District has also taken significant, conservative and methodical steps before asking the community for additional resources. Most notably, we reopened Central School in 2022 specifically to create additional capacity and reduce class sizes. Since Central reopened, approximately 300 additional students have enrolled in SD113A. We have continued to maximize existing facilities, including converting spaces such as learning resource center and multipurpose areas into classrooms.

Our approach has been to use the space and resources we already have before making a larger investment in additional facilities. The challenge now is that continued enrollment growth has brought us to a point where those strategies alone are no longer sufficient. We have explored building a new building (the most costly option), adding modular classrooms (costly, safety/security concerns, and a temporary solution), doing nothing, or adding additions to each campus, and ultimately decided that building additions was the most reasonable and cost-effective solution.

The primary driver is continued enrollment growth and the need for additional classroom space while maintaining reasonable class sizes, academic programs, transportation, student support services, and safe and appropriate learning environments.

No. The referendum is being presented to address enrollment, facility capacity, and the operational needs associated with serving a larger student population—not to address a financial crisis. 

The financial challenges District 113A faces today are not the result of overspending. Compared with peer districts, District 113A operates with a lower tax rate, lower per-pupil spending, and lower State funding, clear evidence of long-standing fiscal discipline and careful resource management. Many peer districts have tax rates significantly higher than District 113A’s, receive substantially more State Evidence-Based Funding per student, and spend significantly more per pupil each year, underscoring the District’s sustained commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Many peer districts have tax rates up to 45% higher than District 113A’s, receive substantially more State Evidence-Based Funding per student, and spend at  least 30% more per pupil each year,  underscoring the District’s sustained  commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Tax Rate Comparison 

The financial challenges District 113A faces today are not the result of overspending. Compared with peer districts, District 113A operates with a lower tax rate, lower per-pupil spending, and lower State funding, clear evidence of longstanding fiscal discipline and careful resource management. Many peer districts have tax rates significantly higher than District 113A’s, receive substantially more State Evidence-Based Funding per student, and spend significantly more per pupil each year, underscoring the District’s sustained commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Instructional Per Pupil Spending Comparison 

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Operational Per Pupil Spending Comparison 

District 113A is placing a limiting rate referendum on the November 2026 ballot. If approved, the limiting rate increase would generate an estimated $6,000,000 annually. Use the online tax calculator to calculate your home’s tax impact.

If approved by voters, the 36-cent limiting rate increase is estimated to generate approximately $6 million annually. It would allow the District to create additional classroom space at all four schools and provide the staffing, maintenance, and operational resources necessary to support those classrooms.

District 113A actually operates with one of the leanest administrative structures in the area. The District has one of the highest number of students per administrator among comparable local districts, meaning fewer administrators are supporting more students.

District 113A is a nearly $40 million organization serving more than 2,700 students across four schools, yet many major district functions—including finance, human resources, teaching and learning, technology, transportation, and buildings and grounds—are each led by just one administrator. 

The District also does not employ several administrative positions commonly found in comparable districts, such as dedicated directors for communications, multilingual education, early childhood, or assessment.

Reducing this already-lean administrative structure would not address the underlying issue driving the referendum: continued enrollment growth and the need for additional classroom space and staffing to serve more students.

In 2022-2023, the District reopened Central School as part of its plan to address increasing enrollment and reduce class sizes. That plan accomplished its intended goal and provided additional classroom space across the District.

Since that time, however, enrollment has continued to grow. Approximately 300 additional students have enrolled in the District since Central reopened, creating new space needs that were not present in 2022-2023. The District has continued to monitor this growth through multiple independent enrollment studies, including the most recent study in 2026. 

As enrollment has increased, the District has taken a measured approach—using existing space efficiently, making adjustments within its schools, and continuing to monitor enrollment before considering larger facility investments.

Based on current enrollment and projections, additional classroom space is now needed to maintain reasonable class sizes and provide appropriate learning environments for students. Rather than constructing a new school, which is estimated to cost approximately $65–70 million or more, the District is proposing additions to its existing school campuses. This approach is intended to address current and projected enrollment needs while making use of the District’s existing facilities and infrastructure.

SD113A has proactively worked to manage growth:

• Reopened Central School for the 2022-23 school year
• Repurposed internal spaces (LRCs, shared rooms)
• Adjusted staffing to meet increasing enrollment
• Explored reclaiming district-owned property
• Conducted multiple demographic studies
• Participated in Village Technical Review Committee processes
• Acquired adjacent property to expand parking at Central

To address current and future capacity needs, SD113A has evaluated short and long term facility expansion solutions including:

• Classroom additions at all existing schools
• Use of modular (temporary) classrooms
• Reclaiming district-owned facilities
• Building a new school

We currently do not have available classroom space at our four schools to be able to handle current and projected enrollment increases.

SD113A is a good steward of taxpayer dollars, and when facing challenges with space, opted for the most cost-effective solution for facilities, which is adding onto current buildings. We considered building a new building; however, the cost was the highest of the options. Additionally, other districts have utilized a similar option and found that enrollment numbers didn’t increase to those levels, resulting in school closures, which we want to avoid for our taxpayers.

Our facilities were built to last and are well-maintained, but the challenges of simply not having enough space to serve our growing student population require the district to look into other options. Additionally, this proposal ensures that not only will we create extra spaces, but we will have the funds to staff those spaces and keep class sizes reasonable while maintaining our commitment to excellence in programming. 

Yes. SD113A is partnering with architects to determine the priorities for this proposal which will include renderings of planned additions and renovations. There is not a need to purchase additional land at this time, but the district is closely watching properties around schools with future growth in mind. 

Draft Building Addition Renderings

The District evaluated all of those options. A new school is estimated to cost approximately $65–70 million or more and would require significantly greater operating costs once opened. Modular classrooms are temporary, still costly, and create additional safety, security, supervision, and logistical concerns. Additions allow the District to use the infrastructure and campuses we already own while adding permanent classroom space where students are already being served. The District determined additions were the most reasonable long-term approach among the options considered.

That is exactly why the District is proposing additions rather than constructing an entirely new school. The District has taken a measured approach because enrollment can change over time. However, the growth we are addressing is already occurring, not simply projected: enrollment is currently at the highest level in District history and has grown nearly 26% over the past decade. Independent demographic studies were conducted in 2017, 2024, and 2026 in collaboration with the Village of Lemont and LHS, and actual enrollment exceeded previous projections. The District also reopened Central School in 2022 to create additional capacity, and approximately 300 more students have enrolled since then.

The additions are intended to address current space pressures and projected needs without taking on the much larger cost and capacity of an entirely new school. The District has already converted or repurposed existing instructional spaces, and there is currently no available classroom space across the four schools to absorb continued growth. 

Our goal is to solve a real capacity problem that exists today while being careful not to build more than we reasonably believe we will need tomorrow.

Lemont High School District 210 first established its Facilities Plan in 2018 to ensure long-term facility readiness. Building on the 2006 referendum, which established student capacity for up to 2,000 students, the district passed a Debt Service Extension Based Referendum in 2022 to help fund capital improvements. Long-term planning ensures the high school modernizes space allocation and adapts to shifting academic, athletic, and co-curricular program needs as the community grows. 

We understand why residents may ask whether District 113A could simply redraw its boundaries so certain neighborhoods attend another school district. That process is called detachment and annexation, and it is much different than redistricting within 113A. It requires a formal legal process and approval outside of the District.

More importantly, our responsibility is to plan for and educate the students who live within District 113A—not to solve enrollment growth by asking another community or school district to take our students. Detaching neighborhoods would also remove the property tax base associated with those areas and impact families who purchased homes within 113A. For those reasons, we do not believe shifting our enrollment challenges to neighboring districts is a responsible long-term solution.

Election Day is Tuesday,  Nov. 3 with early voting beginning on Monday, Oct. 19. and ending on Monday, Nov. 2.

You must be registered to vote and reside in SD113A to participate in the Limiting Rate Referendum Election. 

Get more information about the voting process from the links below:

• Illinois State Board of Elections
• Village of Lemont Elections Information 
• Cook County Clerk’s Office
• DuPage County Clerk’s Office

No, the District cannot assume that Bromberek will be available because the matter remains in litigation and both the timing and outcome are uncertain.

For that reason, District 113A must plan for enrollment and facility needs based on the capacity it can reasonably rely upon today.

If Bromberek later becomes available for District use, the Board would evaluate how the approximately 450-student facility could be incorporated into the District's facility plan based on enrollment, building condition, renovation costs, grade configurations and other circumstances at that time.

The referendum and the Bromberek litigation are separate matters. The referendum addresses the District's current enrollment and facility needs, while the District continues to pursue its legal rights concerning a District-owned property.

District 113A supports families having educational choices and recognizes that a strong private and parochial school presence can be an important part of the community.

In the early 2000s, the 113A community was experiencing significant population growth. District 113A had recently opened River Valley School, which created additional capacity for the District and left Bromberek School available for another use.

At the same time, Catholic school enrollment in Lemont was substantially higher than it is today with 934 students enrolled in their combined campuses in the 2001-2002 school year (617 SSCM and 317 SASP).

District 113A and the Archdiocese viewed the availability of educational space as a broader community issue and worked together on a solution. The result was a lease with option to purchase that allowed SASP to operate in the District-owned Bromberek School for annual rent of $51,489, or approximately $4,290 per month.

The arrangement provided SASP with additional space while putting an otherwise vacant District facility to use.

In recent years, the community has again experienced a significant change in school enrollment and available classroom capacity—but this time in the opposite direction.

District 113A enrollment has grown substantially and is now at an all-time high, creating increasing pressure on the District's available classroom space. At the same time, enrollment in Lemont's Catholic schools has declined significantly from the levels that existed when the Bromberek lease was established.

Much as the District and Archdiocese did more than two decades ago, District 113A approached SASP and the Archdiocese to discuss whether the community's existing educational facilities could be used differently in light of current enrollment and capacity needs.

The District hoped the parties could reach a mutually agreeable solution that would allow District 113A to regain use of Bromberek while providing sufficient space for the community's parochial school students.

The parties were ultimately unable to reach an agreement. District 113A provided notice that it intended to reclaim Bromberek for District use, and the parties' differing interpretations of their rights under the lease are now being addressed through litigation.

The District and the Archdiocese have different interpretations of their rights under the lease, and that disagreement is currently being addressed through the legal process.|

The District 113A Board of Education has an obligation to evaluate cost-effective ways to provide adequate educational space for a growing student population.

When enrollment began increasing, the District commissioned demographic studies, evaluated its existing facilities, and ultimately reopened Central School in 2022.

The Board has approached Bromberek School in a similar manner. Like Central School, Bromberek is a District-owned building originally constructed with public funds for public education. As enrollment and space needs have increased, the Board determined that it was appropriate to evaluate whether Bromberek could again be used to educate District 113A students.

The courts will ultimately determine the parties' respective legal rights under the lease.

In May 2024, District 113A notified the Archdiocese of Chicago that it wished to reclaim Bromberek School for District use. At that time, the District's goal was to reopen the building as a District 113A school for the 2026–27 school year.

With an estimated capacity of approximately 450 students, the Board believed Bromberek could provide meaningful additional classroom capacity while making use of an existing District-owned facility.

Because the matter remains in litigation, the original 2026–27 timeline was not achievable and the timing and ultimate availability of Bromberek remain uncertain.

If the District ultimately regains use of the building, the Board would evaluate the building's condition, renovation requirements, enrollment at that time, grade-level configurations, transportation, staffing, and the District's overall facility plan before determining exactly how Bromberek would be used.

The District's use of Bromberek would therefore be based on the educational and facility needs that exist at the time the building becomes available.

The future location and operation of SASP would be a decision for the Archdiocese of Chicago, not District 113A.

The Archdiocese owns other school facilities in Lemont in addition to leasing Bromberek from District 113A. These include St. Cyril & Methodius Parish School (SSCM), with an estimated capacity of approximately 650 students, as well as the school facilities associated with St. Alphonsus and St. Patrick parishes (SASP). The SASP facilities housed over 300 students immediately before SASP began operating at Bromberek.

Including Bromberek's approximately 450-student capacity, these facilities represent approximately 1,400 classroom seats, compared with current combined enrollment of approximately 400 students at SASP and SSCM.

If District 113A ultimately regains Bromberek, decisions regarding how the Archdiocese accommodates its students among the facilities it owns or otherwise operates would be made by the Archdiocese.

SASP and the Archdiocese have made investments in Bromberek during their occupancy of the building. Additionally, District 113A made substantial investments into Bromberek in 1995 when it added a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, library, and two additional classrooms. However, a building's suitability for its current use does not necessarily mean that it meets all current requirements for operation as a District 113A public school.

The District's architects have conducted a preliminary evaluation of Bromberek and estimate that approximately $15 million in work could be required to bring the building up to current standards and prepare it for use as a District 113A public school.  

The exact scope and cost could only be determined through a more detailed evaluation if and when the District regains access to the building.

Any decision to renovate and reopen Bromberek would therefore require the Board to evaluate the cost of the necessary improvements, the approximately 450 students of potential capacity, and the District's facility needs at that time.

The Board recognizes its responsibility to carefully manage taxpayer dollars, including expenses associated with litigation. The District has capped its legal fees for the Bromberek limiting the District's financial exposure in pursuing the matter.

The Board believes it has a strong legal claim and determined that pursuing the return of Bromberek represents a reasonable and potentially cost-effective option for District students and taxpayers.

Bromberek is a District-owned asset valued at more than $1.8 million with an estimated capacity of approximately 450 students. District enrollment is at an all-time high, and additional classroom capacity is needed to accommodate continued growth.

Although the District's architects estimate that approximately $15 million could be required to renovate Bromberek and prepare it for use as a District 113A public school, the alternatives for creating comparable new capacity could cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars more.|

For that reason, the Board believes the relatively limited litigation expense should be considered in the context of both the value of the District-owned asset and the substantially greater costs taxpayers could face if the District is unable to use Bromberek to help address enrollment growth.

The Board also believes it has an obligation to taxpayers to pursue reasonable opportunities to use District-owned property for the education of District 113A students before asking taxpayers to fund more costly alternatives.

The ultimate interpretation of the lease and the parties' respective legal rights will be determined through the legal process.

1990 — Lemont and Bromberek school districts combine
Lemont School District #113 and Bromberek School District #65 combined to form Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District #113A. Bromberek School became one of the schools operated by the newly combined District.

1995 — District 113A expands Bromberek School
District 113A made a significant investment in Bromberek School, constructing an addition that added a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, library, and two additional classrooms.

2002–03 — River Valley opens and Bromberek becomes available
Lemont was experiencing significant population growth. District 113A approved construction of a new elementary school, River Valley School, to provide additional capacity for the growing District.

At the same time, Lemont's Catholic schools had substantially higher enrollment than they do today.  In the 2001-2002 school year, St. Cyril & Methodius Parish School (SSCM) had an enrollment of 617 and St Alphonsus St Patrick School (SASP) had an enrollment of 317.  A total of 934 students within facilities owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

In May 2003, District 113A entered into an agreement with the Archdiocese of Chicago for SASP to use the District-owned Bromberek School. River Valley School opened in the fall of 2003, providing the District with the additional capacity needed to accommodate its students.
The resulting Bromberek agreement provided for annual rent of $51,489, or approximately $4,290 per month.

2017–18 — Approximately 2,170 District 113A students
As District enrollment began increasing, District 113A commissioned a demographic study to evaluate future enrollment and facility needs.

2022 — Central School reopens
In response to increasing enrollment, District 113A reopened Central School, a District-owned building that had previously been closed. Reopening Central provided additional classroom capacity using an existing taxpayer-owned facility.

2022–23 — Approximately 2,560 District 113A students
District enrollment had increased by nearly 400 students compared with 2017–18.

2024 — District seeks return of Bromberek
With enrollment continuing to increase, the District commissioned another demographic study and evaluated its available facility options.

In May 2024, District 113A formally notified the Archdiocese that it wished to reclaim Bromberek School for District use, with the goal at that time of reopening it as a District facility for the 2026–27 school year.

In June 2024, the Archdiocese of Chicago notified District 113A that it wished to exercise its purchase option under the lease.

2024–25 — Approximately 2,673 District 113A students
Enrollment continued to grow, further increasing pressure on available classroom space.

2025–26 — Approximately 2,724 District 113A students
District enrollment had increased by more than 550 students since 2017–18.

2026–27 — District enrollment reaches an all-time high
The District completed another demographic study in 2026 to update enrollment projections and assist with long-term facility planning. The planning scenario being used by the District projects continued enrollment growth in the coming years.

Enrollment growth has resulted from a combination of factors, including new residential development, turnover of existing homes to families with school-age children, and movement of students from private/parochial schools into District 113A.