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W E D N E S D A Y
December 16, 2020 Vol. 40, No. 20 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
It’s a-maze-ing OPRF hopes to fix complicated room numbering system By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
Getting confused by the complex room numbering system at Oak Park and River Forest High School is virtually a rite of passage for many of the high school’s freshmen, as iconic an experience as OPRF’s century-old tradition of seniors donning dresses and suits at graduation. The dress and suit tradition ended in 2019, giving way to the more common commencement tradition of caps and gowns. OPRF’s confusing room numbers may be on a similar path to cultural oblivion. During a Committee of the Whole meeting on Dec. 3, the District 200 school board discussed a recommendation by district administrators to undertake an overhaul of the high school’s renumbering and wayfaring system amid the first phase of capital improvements related to the Imagine OPRF facilities master plan. Ronald Anderson, D200’s director of operations, said the district should start the renumbering and wayfaring project amid the $32.6 million first phase construction work — which includes building a new student resource center, a new south cafeteria and new classrooms, among other projects. Anderson said the district is prepared to pay architectural firm FGM Architects, which is handling the construction work, to provide room renumbering and wayfaring signage design services. The money for the project would come from funds budgeted for the first phase construction work. Any costs related to the signage and wayfaring project that fall outside the first phase work will be paid out of the district’s building maintenance fund. Anderson said FGM will charge the district no more than $45,000 for any costs related to the See RENUMBERING on page 18
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
ART IN THE FAMILY: Artist Peter Lenzo, right, moved to Oak Park in 2019 to live with his younger brother Kris and his family. Read their story on page 6.
Tension as OPRF school board rebukes admin over cuts By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
The District 200 school board is expected to adopt the 2020 tax levy at a regular meeting on Dec. 17, but the process of finalizing this year’s levy hasn’t been frictionless, with board members openly accusing administrators of playing politics,
as they look for the $1.7 million worth of budget cuts likely to result from the board’s new levy. The tension between the board and the administration goes back to a Nov. 19 Committee of the Whole meeting, when the administration presented the board with three options for this See BUDGET CUTS on page 18
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