Audit: $21 million in 'urgent' Palatine Twp. Dist. 15 repairs needed
After inspecting Palatine Township Elementary District 15's schools, architects and engineers say the district would have to spend roughly $21 million to fix high-priority safety issues.
The state requires school districts to complete the audit once every decade. Chicago-based architectural firm STR Partners has recommended about $119 million in construction projects in buildings where students are taught.
Of that, $21 million in projects were deemed "urgent." That technically means the work would address immediate safety hazards for students, under state law.
"To me, there's nothing more important that we can do as board members than to get those corrected now," board member Scott Herr said Wednesday night.
But officials say that in practice, the definition isn't so black and white, and the price tag is a moving target.
Typically, the district spends $3 million on capital budgets annually, but the board earmarked roughly $4.6 million this school year.
Most of the projects in the audit, officials say, deal with plumbing and electrical needs.
"A lot of these are like ... driving a car with bald tires," said Jan Taniguchi, the firm's principal. "You can drive them, OK. It may not pop, but at a certain point, it will, and you should look into it."
The survey, plus input from parents and taxpayers, will help the district plan for what needs to be done in schools over the next 10 years, Superintendent Scott Thompson said. The district formally adopts the audit in June 2015.
To get feedback, the district will host forums on the study in four junior high schools at 7 p.m. on the following Thursdays: Jan. 8 at Carl Sandburg, Jan. 15 at Walter Sundling, Jan. 29 at Winston Campus, and Feb. 5 at Plum Grove.
"We share the desire to make sure that our buildings are as safe as possible," Thompson told the board.
In the short term, the district will now start seeking bids for construction work over summer break - expected to cost a total of $2.97 million. The board approved that measure in a 4-3 vote Wednesday, with members Manjula Sriram, Gerard Iannuzzelli and Herr opposing. The plan calls for replacing galvanized pipes and upgrading bathroom fixtures at Plum Grove and Carl Sandburg junior highs and Lincoln Elementary School. Lake Louise Elementary is slated to get a new, $115,000 south parking lot.
Board President Peggy Babcock said those also are high-priority projects. Administrators recommended the work from a draft version of the audit, though Herr and Sriram said they wanted to review the firm's findings before making a decision. But the delay would keep the district from getting the most favorable deals, officials said.