The $62 million win for BBCHS
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Asking voters for $62 million in an anti-tax climate when initial polling is below 50% sounds impossible. But for Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School District (BBCHS), “impossible” was nothing new. This wasn’t their first try.
So yes, the odds were stacked sky-high. Most people would say, “Good luck!" |
The BBCHS District didn’t rely on luck. They relied on leadership, strategy, and community power—and they turned a long-shot into a November 2024 victory where voters said YES!
BBCHS has served the Bradley, Bourbonnais, and St. George communities for many decades. But the current strain on the building was impossible to ignore.
Despite careful maintenance, the campus simply wasn’t built for today’s needs, or tomorrow’s.
A Legacy Building That Couldn't Keep Up
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BBCHS has been a cornerstone of education for more than 70 years, but a building designed for 300 students now serves nearly 2,000. A 2019 facility study with BLDD Architects revealed a clear picture:
The conclusion was clear: students deserved better. |
Leadership Reset The Stage
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A new Superintendent arrived in 2021 with a different philosophy: Listen first. Be transparent. Bring everyone in. Under Vision 307, the District opened the planning process to the entire community: students, families, staff, and residents. This wasn’t a top-down plan. It was a shared vision. And trust started growing where past attempts had stalled. |
Strategy Made the Case Clear
Polls showed initial support under 50%, so the team dug into data and translated technical needs into real-life challenges:
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“Built for 300, serving 2,000.”
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“Lunch shouldn’t control the schedule.”
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“Students shouldn’t have to walk outside to get to class.”
Survey data guided the messaging, and planning principles formed around what mattered most:
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All under one roof
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A right-sized dining commons
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Flexible, future-ready academic spaces
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Support for the whole student
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Most importantly, the message shifted from catching up to building the next 50 years of BBCHS.
Community Outreach Turned Momentum Into Votes
Then came the key to success: grassroots energy.
Volunteers knocked on 2,000+ doors, encouraging voters to say out loud that they planned to vote “yes.” That simple verbal commitment boosted follow-through and confidence.
By Election Day, this wasn’t the District’s plan—it was the community’s plan. And for the first time since 1978, a major referendum passed.
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THE RESULT: November 2024 passage of a bond referendum, resulting in $62,000,000 for the district.
A Future Built Together
With funding in hand, the new Facility Master Plan delivers exactly what the community asked for:
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A safe, secure, fully unified campus
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Modern classrooms and spaces ready for future learning
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A dining commons that supports, not disrupts the school day
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Smarter daily flow and aligned academic programs
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Spaces dedicated to wellness and student support
This is more than a building project. It’s a 50-year investment in students and a community victory generations in the making.
Read more about the innovative solution for BBCHS.
Principal | Director of K-12 Education Design |
Since joining the firm in 2007, Damien has been highly engaged in a variety of PK-12 work across the company. His focus and passion relate to long range facility planning, community engagement, user engagement and programming, and design and planning of PK-12 facilities. As co-director of BLDD's PK-12 design group, Damien continues to push the ways the firm thinks about design solutions for our clients.
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