Leadership Matters November 2013

Quiet saƟsfacƟon: Superintendent’s  story  about cuƫng through government red tape  Ridgewood High School is

located in Norridge, just seven miles from a runway at O’Hare International Airport, which, depending on which civic boosters one listens to, is either the busiest or second busiest airport in the world. Proximity to O’Hare is, of course, a major driver of the economy in the West Cook Region, but that economic engine is also a very loud one. On a clear Friday evening in the fall, planes preparing to land on Runway 27L are stacked up over the school and football fans can count as little as 30 seconds

Dr. Robert Lupo  Superintendent of  Ridgewood   Community 234

between arrivals. As one who grew up in Norridge, I can attest that it has always been thus. People pause in mid- sentence while on the phone or in their backyards. Non-air conditioned schools would have to choose between the cacophony of windows open and the stifling heat of windows closed. Airplane noise, it seemed, would just be a way of life. But, in 1996, things around O’Hare began to change with the creation of the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission (ONCC). As the Commission states, it “is the only organization that is dedicated to reducing aircraft noise in the communities around O’Hare International Airport. It was established in 1996, following an invitation from Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to suburban mayors to begin constructive dialogues on aircraft noise issues with the goal of reducing the noise.” With that invitation, 28 municipalities and 16 school districts became part of an entity dedicated to working with the city of Chicago, O’Hare Airport, the FAA, and the individual airlines in developing ways to reduce the effects of noise on communities around O’Hare. Two of its signature achievements are the residential and school sound insulation projects. The Residential Sound Insulation Committee helps reduce the effects of noise on homes, while the School Sound Insulation Committee does the same for schools. The saga of Ridgewood’s adventure in soundproofing began in 1997, when the district joined the ONCC and was tested to determine if the noise levels inside the building warranted a sound

insulation grant. Through that year and through subsequent years Ridgewood appeared in the top 10 of schools experiencing excessive levels of noise, but funds were limited and never seemed to extend far enough down the list to address the high school’s problems. Fast forward to 2004, at which time Ridgewood was again tested and deemed to qualify for funds. The FAA announced that Ridgewood and two other schools would soon be given the opportunity to receive sound insulation funds. In 2005, after getting preliminary numbers on the cost of the sound insulation project, the FAA changed its qualifying criteria and the three schools were determined to be no longer eligible for funding. The story of how this decision was reversed and how Ridgewood became the single largest recipient of sound insulation funding in history starts here. From the beginning, the district reached out to Mayor Richard M. Daley, to senators and representatives, and even Secretary of Transportation Raymond LaHood. The FAA remained intransigent and the school was told to forget it. In the meantime, in 2006 taxpayers passed a bond referendum for $40 million that would allow the school to complete its long-term facilities plan. At that point the Board of Education decided to go forward with the renovations without the additional funds that might accrue from the FAA. Ground was broken for a new field house and the school was in full construction mode. As superintendent, I believed that it was worth one last-ditch effort to ask for a reversal of the FAA

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