School upgrades progressing despite weather

Wauconda District 118 students might be crossing their fingers for good weather for the last days of summer vacation.

District officials are making the same wish -- but for a different reason. When school starts Sept. 4, school board members want to see most of the $62.5 million district-wide upgrades completed.

"The biggest issue right now has been the weather," Jeffrey Masters of Gilbane Building Company told the board Thursday. He said 9 inches of rain had fallen since the beginning of the month. "Right now we're working overtime. We're working seven days a week."

Superintendent Dan Coles said crews were waiting to pave the parking lot at Wauconda Grade School but couldn't move forward because of rain.

"We've been waiting anxiously for a couple of weeks," he said.

But the district completed many of its projects, including the construction of a new transportation center to house district buses. The board held a ceremony Thursday to celebrate the opening of the facility. Coles also said the district's new Matthews Middle School was granted an occupancy permit Monday.

"We do have some minor punch-list items (at Matthews)," Coles said, but otherwise the school is ready to open.

Masters said work on the high school, including new athletic fields and an auditorium, was also progressing. About a third of the project had been turned over to cleaning crews, he said.

Coles said the district expects a temporary occupancy permit for the high school on Aug. 24. A final inspection is scheduled for Sept. 3, the day before school begins.

"That is part of the process that you go through to make sure everything is safe and clean for the kids," Coles said.