What’s ahead for Waubonsie Valley’s estimated $143 million school renovation

Getting around Waubonsie Valley High School is a bit like navigating a maze.

Three different additions to the Aurora school date to the 1990s.

As Waubonsie Valley nears the 50th anniversary of its opening, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officials have detailed plans for a sweeping renovation that will improve circulation and bring more natural light into the building. The latest concepts show a much brighter and airy atrium as part of Waubonsie’s overhaul — one of the most significant projects the district is tackling with voter-approved funding.

“It's just so much more of a welcoming environment,” school board member Mark Rising said.

Last November, voters said “yes” to the district’s request to issue up to $420 million in bonds to improve dozens of schools. At Waubonsie Valley, the work has started with auditorium renovations and will unfold in multiple phases. The total project budget is estimated at $143.8 million, including $130 million in referendum funds.

“As a parent of two alum from Waubonsie, this is absolutely thrilling,” school board member Susan Taylor-Demming said.

A proposed new ring road connecting the parking lots on the site itself “will be so much appreciated,” she said.

“It's going to be huge for getting traffic flow during those big game nights or special events that are happening through the building,” said Amy Tiberi of Wight & Company, the architectural firm hired by the district.

With an eye toward equity, the district is installing a turf field at both Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools. It’s about making those playing surfaces available throughout the year for not just athletics, but also physical education, bands and other student activities, said Matt Shipley, the district’s chief school business official.

The turf at Metea Valley High School, meanwhile, is slated for replacement. The Waubonsie stadium improvements also include modifications to the bleachers and a new concessions building.

“I appreciate the fact that we are looking at this as an equity project as well, to make all three high schools, as much as we can, similar in what they offer,” board member Catey Genc said.

Inside Waubonsie, “a lot of the circulation is going to be taking place through a grand staircase that happens in the middle of the building that you can easily get up and then distribute out throughout the floor levels rather quickly, rather than making your way through the building in what is now a little bit of a maze,” Tiberi said.

The main office will move closer to the main entrance. The nurse's office will be right there off the front, too, Principal Jason Stipp said.

“Currently, our special ed is scattered throughout the entire building, and now it’s more centralized,” he said during a recent board presentation on the plans.

A weight room will move down to the first floor, and that second-floor space will instead be used for adaptive PE and wrestling.

“As weights get dropped and deadlifts and all that … if anyone's building a school, don't put a weight room on the second floor,” Stipp said with a laugh.

A more open student dining area will have a variety of seating options with circle tables, longer tables and those meant for individuals. That’s important because some kids like to eat by themselves and get some of their stuff done, Stipp said.

The hope is to have Prism, Waubonsie’s winter holiday show, in a newly renovated auditorium featuring new seats, ADA upgrades and other updates.

Based on a preliminary construction phasing and timeline, the stadium work would start in spring 2026. Officials also are planning for the 2026-27 school year and, specifically, for a temporary cafeteria.

“We’re really only affecting one school year,” Tiberi said, “in this preliminary planning … all the other construction phases are happening during the summer timelines.”