Gurnee Elementary District to talk flood prevention

Gurnee Elementary District's superintendent says he is open to suggestions on future flood protection for a school sitting in the Des Plaines River's shadows.

John Hutton, who heads the District 56 system, said tremendous work by community volunteers and staff prevented serious damage from the recent Des Plaines River flood that hit Gurnee Grade School. All students are now attending classes in the building.

Ideas on how to protect the Kilbourne Road school from flooding were pitched to District 56 officials three years ago, but didn't go anywhere.

Hutton, who joined District 56 in the summer, said the most recent flood has prompted him to want to discuss with his staff possible preventive measures for the future. He intends to eventually bring the topic to the school board.

"We want to reflect on the (flood-protection) process to see what we learned and where we're going from here," Hutton said Wednesday.

Floodwater spilled into Gurnee Grade School's lower level Aug. 25. Volunteers and district employees filled and stacked sandbags around the building Aug. 23 in anticipation of the flood.

Gurnee Grade opened on time to students Aug. 27. The building houses about 410 pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade as well as District 56's administrative headquarters.

About 150 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade pupils who typically use Gurnee Grade's lower level, which took on some water, spent two days at Viking School on Old Grand Avenue. The middle-school students returned ahead of schedule Friday.

Minimal tile damage occurred in the lower level, with the rest of Gurnee Grade unaffected by the floodwater, Hutton said. He credited District 56's director of buildings and grounds, Mike Nichols, with leading a team of employees and volunteers that fended off the river that's about 100 yards from Gurnee Grade.

"We just had folks who were here 24/7," Hutton said. "Before water got into the building, they were there mopping it up."

Gurnee Grade was hit by flooding in May 2004. About two months later, an engineer presented ideas about flood protection for the school, which had a tentative cost of $1.5 million to $2 million.

One suggestion was a 4-foot textured concrete wall about 10 feet from the building to stem a 100-year flood. Another idea was a dam around the school to protect against a less-severe 25-year flood.

District 56 board President James Blockinger said there were reasons the dam and wall went nowhere.

"It wasn't a practical alternative," Blockinger said. "It was way too expensive."