Panel trims $1.1 million from Magee school project

The Round Lake school district believes it has a plan to cut costs on its plan to reopen Magee Middle School.

On Thursday, schools CEO Ben Martindale said a district ad hoc committee this week trimmed an estimated $1.1 million from the cost of the project.

The trims were made after bids came in around $3 million over budget last month. School board president Guy Finley said the cuts were made without sacrificing the scope of the project.

"We've been involved in projects that were supposed to be one thing, and turned out to be another," Finley said. "We were not going to change the footprint of the building to accommodate some of the reductions."

The district is in the midst of a $17 million building project, approved by voters in 2005. Of those funds, around $15 million is earmarked for Magee.

The work will include an addition to Round Lake High School, the demolition, renovation and an addition to Magee Middle School, and the HVAC work in the elementary schools.

Magee has been shuttered for several years due to a long list of need improvements. The school is expected to reopen in time for the 2008-2009 school year.

Finley said the district needed to make sure any potential cuts to the construction program for Magee didn't look like students at that school would be missing out on what students at Round Lake Middle School had at that building.

But he admitted that the building, as it stands now, will come in over budget. But, he noted, the district has money from interest earned on the referendum funds, fund balances in its budget as well as money garnered from the sale of land on Hook Drive in Round Lake Beach, to fill in the gap.

"While we could cut back, to keep it under budget, it was more important that this building is built the right way. It's foolish to cut out things like storage at the gym," Finley said. "I think this will be a good building to meet our needs."

The proposed alterations to the program will go back to the district's architect, and the projects will be re-bid, possibly as early as next week.

Martindale said if all goes well, contractors could be working on the building as soon as early September.