Hill School construction could be delayed
The construction of a replacement Hill Elementary School in Aurora may be delayed after the school board this week rejected a design.
The district's architects will have to adjust the design and again get the city's approval. District 129 board President Robert Gonzalez said he estimates that could take another 10 to 12 weeks.
And that, he said, might be enough to push the opening of a new school from the fall of 2017 to the fall of 2018.
Gonzalez was one of two board members who favored the plan, which called for a building varying from one to three stories tall. It would be located next to Iowa Avenue, to the west of the present Hill School. A parking lot would be in front of the building, with a single entrance off Pennsylvania Avenue. The 80-space lot would allow all staff to park on site, instead of having some park on the street, Gonzalez said.
The Aurora City Council approved the plan in December.
The school district planned to seek bids later this month, sign contracts in late March and start construction this spring so it could finish the building by June 2017. The new school would be built first, to the rear of the old school. Then the old school would be razed, and the parking lot and landscaping constructed.
Voters in 2015 approved borrowing $84.2 million to build a new Hill, and to add on to or renovate other schools. Monday night the board approved contracts relating to the installation of geothermal heating - and-cooling systems at several schools.
The original part of Hill was opened in 1888.
State of district speech
Superintendent Jeff Craig will give the second annual state of the district speech at 7 p.m. Monday.
He will discuss the district's academic focus, community outreach, the district's brand, and its building projects.
Baby-sitting will be available for kids 4 and older.
The event is in the auditorium at West Aurora High School, 1201 W. New York St.