Schools
Air Conditioning For Lyons Township High Pushed
The school plans a $10.4 million project to extend AC. It also wants to renovate a slow, rundown elevator.
LA GRANGE, IL – You're probably not thinking about cool relief these days, but the Lyons Township High School board is.
This week, members looked at a $10.4 million project to add air conditioning to about 60 North Campus classrooms over the next couple of summers.
That would mean AC for all the learning spaces in North Campus' main building, officials said.
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Over the last few years, the school has undertaken big projects at both campuses to extend AC.
The low bidder for the latest work is Glendale Heights-based Voris Mechanical.
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The school also has two other projects planned for this summer. One of them is restroom renovations in North Campus' main building and the Reber Center. The low bidder is Waukegan-based Happ Builders, at $1.6 million.
Finally, the board is poised to spend $337,000 on a complete overhaul of the only elevator in North Campus' main building.
"Everything about that elevator is old," said Brian Stachacz, the school's top finance official. "We've had many issues with it in the last three years breaking down."
The renovated elevator will move 200 feet per minute, as opposed to 50 feet currently, according to the school.
The cost of the three projects, plus architectural fees and asbestos removal, amounts to $13.7 million.
The administration proposed to dip into the school's accounts to pay for the work, rather than go into debt.
That is expected to leave the school with $47.1 million in the bank. That amount works out to 48.6 percent of the school's annual operating income. The board aims for 50 percent.
In recent years, the percentage has risen to 68 percent, from 53 percent four years earlier, according to school statistics.
Member Jill Beda Daniels disliked the idea of dropping below 50 percent.
"Should there need to be a roof replacement, we would need to dip into that fund balance for that," she said.
But Superintendent Brian Waterman said the school already had an annual allocation for emergencies.
Board President Jill Grech seemed more comfortable with the proposal.
"I'm glad we're spending some of the fund balance," she said. "You don't want to go much beyond that."
The board is expected to decide on the projects next month.
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