Lockport Township High Schools To 'Consider Alternate Courses' After $85M Referendum Fails

LOCKPORT IL — Lockport Township High School District 205 on Wednesday said the Board of Education "will consider alternative courses of action" after the $85 million building bond referendum to renovate the 115-year-old Lockport Township High School Central Campus failed on Tuesday.

"Though the Board had been discussing the needs of Central Campus publicly for the past two years, a ceiling collapse on November 1, 2023, heightened public awareness of the vulnerabilities of the school’s aging systems," the district said in a news release.

The campus, which houses the district's freshman center, has been closed since the collapse, with freshman attending classes at the previously vacant Lincoln-Way North High School building in Frankfort.

The ceiling collapse came just two months after the board had discussed options for renovating and repairing the campus — built in 1909 — to the tune of $35 million to $95 million.

"With the failure of the bond referendum, the Board of Education will consider alternative courses of action to address the school’s timeworn infrastructure, such as the 70-year-old boiler and the antiquated electrical system," the district said in the news release.

Work to address the ceiling collapse, which happened overnight when the building was empty, has been "underway for weeks," the district said, adding that "all ceilings that were of concern, specifically those installed in 1929, have been removed." The district is moving forward as quickly as possible with remediation, and anticipates Central Campus will be reopened in time for the fall semester, " barring any unforeseen setbacks."

The district said it has assembled a Citizens Advisory Committee to give the community a voice in plans for the campus. Last summer, LTHS also opened the campus for public tours and sought input from community members.

"Since then, around 900 people have toured the school," the district said in the release. "These tours will resume once ceiling construction is completed. Many residents also attended presentations at local feeder schools, libraries, clubs, and local government meetings over the past several weeks."