See Which Elmhurst Schools Need The Most Work

ELMHURST, IL – Earlier this month, Elmhurst School District 205 revealed that it must take care of $40 million in "life safety" work at its schools.

Its architects identified the projects, which are set to be done over the next decade.

Under state law, life safety work can include such things as roofs, sprinkler systems, alarms, drills, emergency communication systems and security upgrades.

The school board is figuring out ways to pay for the projects. The news comes just as the district finished about $190 million in building projects approved in a 2018 referendum. (Of that, $168 million was borrowed, while the rest came from the district's bank accounts.)

For Tuesday's school board meeting, the district released documentation on all the projects that needed to be done over the next 10 years for its 13 schools.

Money-wise, Bryan Middle School needs the most work, with an estimated cost of $5.3 million. The other two middle schools, Sandburg and Churchville, are second and third, at $4.7 million and $3.5 million, respectively.

Fischer Elementary, the district's largest grade school, came in fourth, at $2.8 million.

The district's biggest school, York High, was fifth, at $1.6 million, only a little higher than a couple of much smaller elementaries.

Three schools – Lincoln and Field elementaries and Madison Early Childhood Center – each need only $60,000 in work. They need security film on their glass entrances to strengthen the doors against intrusion.

In the last few years, the district demolished and rebuilt Lincoln and Field. Madison just underwent a complete renovation.

On Tuesday, the district affirmed the list of projects. That document now goes to the regional schools superintendent for approval.

Here are the dollar amounts for needed work at each school, with links for the detailed lists:

Note: The total on this list is about $25 million. The number is expected to rise because of construction cost increases and other variables.