William Fremd High School - History

History

Fremd opened in 1963 as Palatine High School South. The school was later named after William Fremd who had been a member of the high school board of education for over 30 years and had served on school boards in the area for a consecutive period of more than 45 years. Fremd donated the land for the school. In the first yearbook the school was said to 'blend and stretch into the cornfields'. The school was the second high school to be built in Palatine, Illinois after Palatine High School. Palatine South and then Fremd originally served as the school for all Palatine freshman and sophomores while Palatine High School was the school for juniors and seniors. This plan was only in effect for three years before Fremd was expanded to serve as a 4 year high school. In the fall of 1966 the first junior class entered, and they became the first Fremd graduating class in 1968. Then Junior Cathy Klep designed the Viking logo, based on the Minnesota Vikings logo. A school motto was adopted in 1995 after a contest for students. Sophomore Jessica Frank won the contest. In 2001, construction began to create a new science wing. The courtyard which stood in the center of the school was demolished. After two years of year round construction, the new science wing was built along with a heating and ventilation facility on the roof of the building.

Today, Fremd is one of the largest high schools in the region, with over 2900 students including 589 students in the 2004 graduating class and 727 students in 2006. However, the school is also noted for its high operating costs. In 2005, the school had the highest average salary for teachers in the state of Illinois and currently stands at $93,806. Criticisms concerning its high spending include six figure yearly salaries for physical education teachers including $157,098 to a swimming instructor, the purchasing of an electronic sign, a hall rug with an embroidered Viking logo, and unevenly distributed budgets among both academic departments and after school athletics and activities. Although most of this spending is attributed to the parental organization, the Fremd Booster Club, which was founded by Edwin and Lorraine Gill and not the school itself, the spending of both organizations has been called into question on occasion. For example, from 1999-2001 repairs of a leak in the roof of the newly furnished Kolze Auditorium were put off while the Booster Club focused on purchasing an electronic sign for approximately $50,000. Recent attempts to curtail the spending were part of referendums that sought to cut after school activities and athletics. The controversial referendum led to an increase in assessed property tax rates within the school district.

Fremd has seen several construction projects in the last few years, such as new bleachers in the main gymnasium, new tiling and additional classrooms. Recently, the music department finished major construction including a whole new rehearsal room, and the addition of bigger practice rooms with more advanced sound-proof walls as well as storage space. In the newest addition to the school, a synthetic turf football field was added.