A community group known as Imagine OPRF was started in the spring of 2017 to consider renovations to the Oak Park and River Forest High School, and the group recently presented its findings.
OPRF has offered a five-part plan that could cost well into nine figures and take 10 years to finish. The plan still has to be approved by the schoolboard, and some of the information is still missing. The work has to be completed in five sequences, which must be done in order. The first three have been estimated to cost approximately $143m, but the last two have not been priced.
Lynn Kamenitsa, the co-chair of Imagine OPRF, said changing the sequences around is not optional. The work has been designed in a specific order based on physical urgency, the priorities put on the work by the Imagine OPRF group, the impact on students of a major construction project, and the potential benefits to them. Officials considering projects like this could use flyer printing to explain the ideas to the community.
The first sequence would take about 14 months and include relocating the tutoring center and library to a space above the existing south cafeteria. The move would open up space so 64 classrooms could be renovated, and 12 more constructed.
The second sequence would take as long as 18 months, and focuses on a sports facility. The third sequence would include a new common area for students, and take about 15 months.
