District 54 plans more classrooms at Dirksen, Churchill schools in Schaumburg

Schaumburg trustees Tuesday will review and possibly approve plans for an eight-classroom, $4.7 million addition for Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54's Dirksen Elementary School.

Plans for a $4 million addition that would bring six more classrooms and an expanded gym to the district's Winston Churchill Elementary School in Schaumburg are expected to come before the village board in the near future.

Both construction projects are expected to be bid in March, with construction starting in April and completed in time for the following school year, District 54 spokeswoman Terri McHugh said.

The additions will address growing student populations that have made classroom sizes at the two Schaumburg schools among the highest in the 28-building district, she added.

The Dirksen addition at 116 W. Beech Drive will be architecturally similar to existing two-story wings at Aldrin and Collins schools in Schaumburg and Armstrong School in Hoffman Estates, McHugh said.

The Churchill expansion at 1520 N. Jones Road would involve a greater rearrangement of existing space to gain additional classrooms and a larger gym, including the relocation of the library.

The total $8.7 million planned for the two additions represent the most significant of District 54's 2018 construction projects, McHugh said.

Neither building will be giving up any outdoor space used for recreation or other current needs, she added.

Consideration of the Dirksen addition will take place at Schaumburg's first village board meeting to be live streamed at youtube.com/watch?v=VKTJ3KbcLm0.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at village hall, 101 Schaumburg Court in Schaumburg.