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Why Issue 4? Why Now?
Why Issue 4? Why Now?
Aurora’s schools have major facility needs that can no longer be addressed through routine repairs. Issue 4 provides a long-term plan to:
Replace the deteriorating, 100-plus-year-old Craddock Elementary and the inadequate transportation facility.
Repair roofs, HVAC systems, pavement and other critical infrastructure throughout the District.
Protect students and community investments by eliminating trailers, relieving overcrowding and extending the useful life of existing buildings.
The Essential Plan is smaller and more focused than the District’s previous proposal. It concentrates on Aurora’s highest-priority needs while preparing the schools to serve students and the community for decades.
Why Does Craddock Need to Be Replaced?
Why Does Craddock Need to Be Replaced?
A Building That Has Served Aurora for Generations - But Can No Longer Meet Its Needs
A Building That Has Served Aurora for Generations - But Can No Longer Meet Its Needs
Portions of Craddock are more than 100 years old. Despite continued maintenance, the building has crumbling classroom walls, leaking roofs, undersized classrooms, narrow hallways, accessibility limitations, aging mechanical systems and outdated electrical and technology infrastructure.
Space is so limited that classrooms have expanded into the Board of Education offices, scattering administrative staff across the District.
Many of Craddock’s most costly problems are hidden behind the walls, and these issues cannot be resolved through cosmetic improvements or continued patchwork repairs.
The state’s facilities recommendation concluded that extensive renovation is not a fiscally responsible solution.
Craddock’s needs can no longer be postponed. Replacing Craddock provides the best long-term value and gives Aurora students a safe, accessible school designed to support learning for generations to come.
The Essential Plan replaces Craddock with a new elementary school for grades 1–3.
Why Does Our Bus Garage Need Replaced?
Why Does Our Bus Garage Need Replaced?
Student Transportation Needs a Long-Term Solution, Too
Student Transportation Needs a Long-Term Solution, Too
The current bus garage was not built as a transportation facility and is deteriorating beyond what continued repairs can reasonably address. It has only two cramped service bays for a fleet of 30 buses, and buses barely fit completely inside with the doors closed. The facility also lacks bus lifts, forcing mechanics to work underneath vehicles and making routine maintenance more difficult and time-consuming. Without a wash bay to remove road salt and other corrosive materials, buses deteriorate faster.
With new buses costing approximately $140,000 each, a purpose-built transportation facility would protect Aurora’s significant investment by allowing for proper maintenance and regular washing. This would extend the life of the district’s bus fleet, reduce long-term replacement costs and save the district, and the community, money over time. It would also support the safe, reliable daily transportation Aurora students and families depend on.
Why Are Districtwide Infrastructure Repairs Needed?
Why Are Districtwide Infrastructure Repairs Needed?
Aging Infrastructure Doesn't Stop at Craddock
Aging Infrastructure Doesn't Stop at Craddock
Issue 4 is not only about replacing Craddock. It also addresses major repairs needed to protect the schools and community assets Aurora already owns.
The Essential Plan includes addressing aging roofs, HVAC systems, pavement and other critical infrastructure across the District. These are large-scale needs that cannot fit within the approximately $650,000 available annually for repairs and improvements.
Addressing these projects now will:
Keep schools safe, functional, warm and dry.
Extend the useful life of existing buildings.
Reduce the risk of disruptive and more expensive emergency repairs.
Protect the community’s investment in its schools.
Prevent major facility costs from placing additional pressure on funding for teachers, programs and student services.
Including these repairs in Issue 4 provides a planned, districtwide solution instead of continuing to delay major work or address costly problems one emergency at a time.
HVAC | ROOFING | PAVING | OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE
Why Can't Regular Maintenance Pay for All of This?
Why Can't Regular Maintenance Pay for All of This?
Maintenance dollars are limited.
The District receives approximately $880,000 annually from its permanent improvement levy. After setting aside about $230,000 for future turf, track, bus replacements and other major needs, only about $650,000 remains each year for repairs and improvements across five schools and all District facilities.
That funding can cover routine maintenance and some emergencies, but it cannot pay for major projects such as roofs, HVAC systems, pavement, additions or facility replacement. One unexpected expense can consume much of the annual budget; for example, replacing a single air handler at the high school recently cost approximately $350,000.
As the District’s buildings continue to age, repair and improvement needs, and their costs, will continue to grow. Expenses that exceed the available maintenance funding can place pressure on the operating budget, leaving fewer dollars for teachers, educational programs, staffing and student services.
Aurora has tried another approach before. When voters did not approve a bond issue during a period of rapidly increasing enrollment, the District borrowed money to build Leighton and repaid the loan from its operating budget and permanent improvement levy. A school that would have cost approximately $12 million ultimately cost about $23 million, while reducing the money available for operations and maintenance for nearly 25 years.
That approach is not feasible for the $96 million Essential Plan. Dedicated bond funding is necessary to complete these major, long-term projects without diverting money from education and ongoing maintenance.
Is This Plan About Enrollment Growth?
Is This Plan About Enrollment Growth?
No. Unlike the rapid enrollment growth Aurora experienced in the late 1990s and early 2000s, current projections show enrollment remaining relatively stable, with only gradual growth expected.
The primary need is to replace the deteriorating Craddock building and use Aurora’s existing schools more effectively. The new elementary school would serve grades 1–3, allowing third grade to move out of Leighton.
This plan would:
Eliminate trailers at Miller and Leighton.
Replace converted spaces, including closets being used as classrooms, with appropriate learning spaces.
Relieve crowding at Miller, Craddock and Leighton.
Provide sufficient space for current students and modest future growth.
Issue 4 is not about building for a dramatic enrollment increase. It is about addressing existing building and space problems and creating a practical elementary configuration for the future.
Why Happens if Issue 4 Does Not Pass?
Why Happens if Issue 4 Does Not Pass?
The needs, and their costs, will not go away. The District will continue making emergency repairs and addressing the most urgent problems with the limited funding available, but the major facility needs will remain unresolved.
If Issue 4 does not pass:
Craddock will continue operating in a deteriorating, 100-plus-year-old building.
Miller and Leighton will continue relying on trailers and converted classroom spaces.
The transportation facility will remain too small and inadequate for properly maintaining Aurora’s 30-bus fleet.
Major roof, HVAC, pavement and infrastructure projects may be delayed or completed individually at higher costs.
Increasing facility expenses could place greater pressure on the operating budget, leaving fewer dollars for teachers, educational programs and student services.
Waiting does not create a less expensive solution. It means continuing to invest in aging and inadequate facilities while construction and repair costs rise.
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