Why the the plan is needed; What the improvements will provide
District 120 ASPIRES to provide an engaging learning environment, attract and retain exceptional teachers and staff, and deliver a quality education to every one of our students. Unfortunately, the outdated layout and condition of our aging high school makes these goals a challenge to achieve.
To bring our high school up to modern standards and create a safer and healthier learning environment—positioning MHS for a strong future—District 120 seeks to address the school’s most pressing facility and site needs.
In summary, here is why changes are needed now:
- Mundelein High School is more than 60 years old and was designed to last 50-75 years. The school faces many major facility and site challenges, including health and safety issues, aging infrastructure, overcrowding, and more.
- MHS is operating well beyond its capacity. The building was designed to house 1,500 students, but current enrollment is 2,200.
- Common areas are overcrowded. The school’s hallways, cafeteria, and food servery are all original to the building and too small to meet current needs. Only three of the school’s four food serving lines are operable and the cafeteria is too small for the entire student body even when it reaches its capacity of 450 students in each of four lunch periods.
- Costly and disruptive emergency repairs are increasing. Much of the high school’s original infrastructure, which is still in use, has reached the end of its useful life. A pair of water main breaks forced the school to close not long ago.
- More space is needed for Career & Technical Education (CTE) programming. MHS’s CTE programming falls short of what other Lake County high school districts offer. The current space is too small to house the equipment needed for skilled trades training in manufacturing and building trades. Unique opportunities exist if additional space can be created.
- Space is limited for growing health and wellness offerings. Like most high schools, MHS has expanded its health and wellness offerings, including additional mental health and counseling services. Unfortunately, these services are scattered throughout the high school and often in classrooms that are needed for other programming. This further exacerbates overcrowded classrooms and makes accessing health and wellness services more difficult.
- The 62-year-old competition gym presents many challenges. It is not large enough to seat the entire student body, has ADA accessibility issues, and is not air-conditioned. The gym is used for physical education classes, health and wellness programming, athletics, assemblies, competitions, robotics tournaments, community events, performances, practices, and more. The lack of alternative space for these events presents a major scheduling challenge at the school.
- Band and music classrooms are woefully undersized. Having a capacity for just 80 students, but with an enrollment of more than three times that number, the current band room is considerably undersized. There is also limited classroom space, practice areas, and equipment storage.
In summary, here is what the improvement plan will provide:
- Repairing or replacing outdated, inefficient mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems.
- Updating fire safety systems.
- Creating a properly sized space within the high school for Career & Technical Education (CTE) programming.
- Updating the health and wellness spaces and bringing them together into a centralized area to create continuity, free up classroom space and make access easier for students.
- Upgrading the kitchen and cafeteria servery to alleviate space, health and safety issues.
- Expanding hallways to address safety and overcrowding issues.
- Creating additional classrooms on the building’s west side.
- Creating a flexible-use multi-purpose center (fieldhouse) to support multiple physical education classes and provide space for expanded educational programming, athletics, assemblies, competitions, community events, performances, practices and more.
- Building a new competition gymnasium to address the current limitations of the old gym and make room for a new media center / library.
- Expanding music classrooms and storage space to accommodate the number of students enrolled in those programs.
- Addressing infrastructure needs at the District-owned Village Green property to relocate tennis courts and certain athletic fields.
- Adding a ring road around the campus to improve traffic flow, decrease traffic congestions, increase safety and security and provide additional parking.
- Provide new space for the Transition Center program.