District plans

They are breathing a little easier these days in the elementary schools of Round Lake Area School District 116.

The district board approved payment of the final bills from a $2.5 million project that has brought air conditioning to all of its elementary schools.

Having finished that job, the board is now turning its attention to areas of the high school building that are still without air conditioning.

Board President Guy Finley said the elementary school project was undertaken over the summer to cut the heat in W.J. Murphy, Raymond Ellis, Indian Hill, Round Lake Middle School and Round Lake Beach buildings.

Round Lake Village school was already equipped with air conditioning, he said.

Chief Executive Officer Ben Martindale told the board that a software glitch shut down the system at all the campuses Sept. 4, but school engineers were able to correct the problem for the following day's classes.

With that project behind them, the board voted to request bids to bring air conditioning to three classrooms on the second floor of the high school building.

Those classrooms, as well as a pair of hallways near the entrance of the building, are the only areas inside the high school not presently air-conditioned, he said.

Finley said he believes those areas were simply neglected in various remodeling projects over the years, but it is time to correct the problem.

He said the need in the classroom is especially acute, because two of the classrooms are used by special education students for whom environment is crucial in the learning experience.

Martindale said he expects it will cost between $28,000 and $34,000 to air-condition the classrooms, and a proposal for bids could be drawn up before the end of the month.

Finley said he believes the work could be completed by the spring.