Arlington Hts. District 25 hears more options to cool schools

The Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 board continued Thursday to gather information on the costs and options available to air-condition the district's nine schools.

"It's a lot to take in," board member Diana Chrissis said.

Ken Roiland, director of facilities management for District 25, brought in engineers to present the ideas available to the board.

Some of them include chilling units that have worked for Northwest Suburban High School District 214.

"The occupancy and use of air conditioning should be a factor in your decision-making," said Seymour Schwartz, director of buildings and grounds for District 214. "Decide what your goals are."

The District 25 board is still wrangling with the many choices available, including whether to air-condition just the second -- and hotter -- floors of the elementary schools.

"The first floors appear to be relatively comfortable," board member David Page said, citing the complaints the board has received.

However, some parents and teachers in the audience agreed the first floor can be just as uncomfortable as higher floors on hot days, especially if buildings have poor circulation.

Most classrooms in the district are not air-conditioned, but most libraries, common areas and office spaces are.

Roiland said he will return with tentative proposals at the next meeting on Aug. 23, including using three schools as a testing ground for air conditioning. The board may decide, however, to not have air conditioning in any of the schools.

Roiland said he will also bring estimates on life cycles for various systems and their costs down the line.

The original proposal for cooling schools came about earlier this year with an estimated cost of $13 million. However, since then, the board has had more options of varying prices to look at.