High school finally to be soundproofed
Elk Grove High School is finally on track for federal funding to soundproof the school against aircraft noise from O'Hare International Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced Elk Grove High School and Ridgewood High School in Norridge are both eligible for sound insulation.
Since 2004, Northwest Suburban High School District 214 had been expecting more than $10 million to soundproof Elk Grove High School but found out in June 2009 it was no longer eligible because the FAA expects the airport to produce less noise around EGHS due to its modernization plan.
Late last summer, the FAA and the Chicago Department of Aviation re-evaluated aircraft noise levels at three suburban schools, including Elk Grove, at the urging of area legislators, representatives of the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission and school district officials. As a result, Elk Grove and Ridgewood met the FAA's current noise threshold eligibility is based on an Equivalent Sound Level of 45 or above inside classrooms during an eight-hour period with windows open. Carpenter Elementary School in Park Ridge didn't make the cut.
“We're really excited that they agreed to do the retest and that we are eligible for the funding,” said Deb Parenti, District 214 associate superintendent for finance and operations and an noise compatibility group commissioner. “We've been working on this for the past six years. It's been a long road, and I'm very pleased with the outcome. The benefit to students is immeasurable.”
Elk Grove and Ridgewood could each get $15 million, based on today's construction estimates, O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission Executive Director Brendan McLaughlin said.
The FAA has funded 117 schools through the commission's school sound insulation program. Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 spent $100 million on soundproofing 11 of its 14 schools over the past 20 years, and the FAA contributed $25 million toward the projects, a district spokeswoman said.
Exact costs for Elk Grove High School won't be determined until acoustical architects and engineers evaluate the building. The work could involve insulating windows, doors, heating and ventilation systems and roof, Parenti said.
District 214 recently spent roughly $1.2 million to repair roof leaks at the school, which officials were holding off on in anticipation of the soundproofing money.
“We had no choice,” Parenti said. “We had excessive leaking and it was imperative.”
Funding for the soundproofing should be covered entirely by the FAA and the city of Chicago under an 80/20 split.
If funding is appropriated in the upcoming congressional session, the soundproofing of Elk Grove High School could begin in summer 2011.
“But it's entirely possible it will be the following summer,” McLaughlin said. “Most of it has to occur when the kids are out of school.”
To view the Chicago Department of Aviation's 2010 School Noise Monitoring Report, visit the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission website, oharenoise.org.