No easy fix for Dist. 95 schools
Pictures of structural damage, rusted doors, aging boilers, potholes and deteriorating parking lots offered Lake Zurich schools officials a glimpse at facility problems in the district Thursday.
The Lake Zurich Unit District 95 school board mulled over four options to fix or at least patch up the problems at the district's 10 school buildings.
Each of those four scenarios would require a significant investment ranging anywhere from about $15.6 million, which is the least expensive option that barely maintains the status quo, to spending roughly $40 million to replace, repair and fulfill critical facilities needs at all district schools.
"Some of these costs here you are simply not going to be able to avoid," said Mary Kalou, District 95 assistant superintendent of business and operations. "You can defer it a little, but it's not going to go away. If you don't fix things like that, in the long run it will cost you more."
Though the school board did not discuss it in detail Thursday, the district may inevitably have to borrow money from taxpayers to fund the improvements and repairs. The word "referendum" was thrown out, but administrators said it is too soon to know whether that is the path to take.
"We need to get to a point in this process to take this to the public and let them tell us what they think," school board President Kathy Brown said. "What we are doing is trying to educate the community about how big the problem is."
This was the first significant revision of a long-range facilities report presented to the school board last June.
District officials cited declining student enrollment at the elementary schools, underutilization of some buildings, and mounting repairs in aging schools as reasons to close Charles Quentin and May Whitney elementary schools.
Though the enrollment projections have changed since last June to where there could be 300 more elementary students, the district is still considering whether to close those two schools.
May Whitney was shuttered in mid-August due to flooding, asbestos and mold problems, forcing relocation of its students and staff to the nearby Annex building.
Under two of the options presented Thursday, Charles Quentin School would be closed and its population of roughly 373 students would be redistributed among the other five district elementary schools. Only one of those two options, at the $40 million price tag, fully addresses all major building needs within the district, which include building a new elementary school at the current May Whitney site, replacing May Whitney and the Annex.
The decision to either close Charles Quentin, redistrict, or how those facilities' needs would be funded is still months away.
A volunteer facilities finance committee will study ways to fund any of these options, District 95 Superintendent Brian Knutson said.
School board member Jim Hussey said he would not support asking taxpayers to fork out a large sum of money, when only a few years ago the district spent roughly $90 million to build two new schools in Hawthorn Woods, and renovate/improve Lake Zurich High School.
"Make the minimum investments and keep everything working, but you don't make the big investment (now)," Hussey said.
The school board will have numerous discussions on this topic in the months ahead.