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District 211 plans more than $13.8 million in summer upgrades

An estimated $13.8 million in summer renovations are coming to Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211's five schools this year, not including improvements to the athletic fields at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates.

Work on Conant's playing fields, which would include their repositioning and regrading as well as installation of an underground drainage system and walking path, is still awaiting a cost estimate.

Bids on all the district's recommended summer projects will likely come up for the school board's approval in April and May.

So extensive will the work at Conant be this summer that the building will remain closed for all other activities. Its summer school students and staff will be relocated to Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg high schools.

The other work at Conant includes renovations to all its restrooms, a partial roof replacement, and upgrades to the original 1965 air-handling equipment.

Hoffman Estates High School will see renovation of a portion of its media center and to a portion of its parking lot. A final phase of parking lot work is expected during the summer of 2019.

Fremd High School in Palatine will see the replacement and combination of its auditorium and courtyard cooling systems for greater efficiency. This $1.8 million project is the last of the $26 million worth of life-safety projects identified by a 2010 survey.

Another life-safety survey will be conducted this year, likely identifying new needs to be addressed over the next several years, Controller & Treasurer Barb Peterson said.

Fremd also will see the replacement of part of its roof.

Both Schaumburg High School and Fremd will have their stadiums' turf and track surfaces replaced. District officials hope to begin early - about May 15 - to be finished by mid-September.

All five schools will receive repairs to their tennis courts as well as a variety of general mechanical upgrades.

District 211, which is newly debt-free, will not be taking on any debt for the summer projects, Peterson said. The financing will come from a combination of internal fund transfers and an $8.2 million surplus in this year's operating budget.

Renovations to Conant High School and its athletic fields in Hoffman Estates will be so extensive this summer that the building will not house summer school. Courtesy of Palatine-Schaumburg High School
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