Air conditioning on track, but budget limits other District 204 facilities work
Partial air conditioning is on schedule to be up and running by the beginning of next school year at 19 elementary schools in Indian Prairie Unit District 204.
Contractors beginning the $2.7 million project will use spring break from March 30 through April 2 to begin rooftop work at 14 schools, Todd DePaul, director of building operations, told school board members Monday night. The project will use rooftop condensers and units in classrooms to cool an average of four rooms at each of the 19 schools to help prevent the need to cancel classes because of extreme heat.
“Work will run into early August, but we expect all schools to be operational by the beginning of school in August 2015,” DePaul said.
News that the air conditioning project is on schedule might have been the most positive element of a facilities report DePaul gave Monday, in which he also reported the district plans to spend $2.3 million on facility improvements during its next budget year.
Board members said they are concerned about the reactive nature of most facilities work planned for next year, including replacement of boilers at Brookdale and McCarty elementary schools and roof replacement at Fry Elementary.
DePaul said maintenance staff members “nursed” those boilers through the winter heating season after discovering problems, so now they're on the list for replacement before another winter sets in.
“I'm concerned that we're reacting, but I understand why we're reacting because of the cuts that we've had to make,” board President Lori Price said.
DePaul estimates the district should spend an average of $4.9 million a year on facilities to keep its 35 buildings with 4 million square feet of space on 662 acres well-maintained. Spending the past two years has been $5.3 million and $7.2 million, respectively. But next year's projected $2.3 million falls short of the recommendation because of budget constraints, Chief School Business Officer Jay Strang said.
“This promotes the theory that we're always going to be in catch-up or reactive (mode) versus being in a proactive state,” board member Michael Raczak said.
One project listed for next year — replacement of the visitors' bleachers at Waubonsie Valley High School because they don't meet code — is classified as proactive because the bleachers haven't caused a problem yet. But other potential work, such as painting or flooring improvements that board member Maria Curry said Waubonsie sorely needs, will have to wait, DePaul and Strang said.
“I'm so disappointed about the aesthetics of the school at this point,” Curry said.
Strang said the state might be late in making at least one of four major payments it owes to the district this year. If the state delays one payment, District 204 stands to lose $4.5 million. If two payments come in late, the district could lose $9.5 million this budget year.