Windfall may be music to sweaty ears in St. Charles schools

St. Charles school officials want to use $2.3 million in unexpected state funds to air-condition five elementary schools, install security cameras in both high schools and complete other long-awaited projects.

Superintendent Don Schlomann said the recent passage of the state budget netted District 303 more than $2 million that administrators had been unable to project because of uncertainty in Springfield.

"I want people to understand one-time money doesn't happen like this very often," he said. "So while we're able to get this done this year, we might not have the funds to continue this without sitting down and reorganizing the budget or talking to the community."

Chief among the projects is fully air-conditioning Corron, Bell-Graham, Norton Creek, Ferson Creek and Fox Ridge elementary schools, which should be good news for teachers who complained about sweltering classrooms early in the school year.

Those buildings were picked over others, Schlomann said, because they either were built with infrastructure that will make installing air conditioning less expensive or because they already are partially air-conditioned. The cost would be about $1 million, officials estimated.

Another $1 million would be used to upgrade software for human resources, business and student services.

In addition, administrators propose spending $50,000 on staff training and $250,000 on video cameras for East and North high schools. The latter would help beef up high school security, as Schlomann said he wanted to do after a potentially threatening note was found earlier this month in a North restroom.

The cameras would be installed in cafeterias, hallways, doorways and other common areas.

"It's just a first step of what will be a multi-step process to improve security in our district," Schlomann said.

School board President Kathy Hewell said the board will wait until March to vote on the new expenditures so administrators can get official bids for the work.

A public hearing on any budget amendments would follow in April.

"This is a boon for the district," Hewell said. "For this one year, we can make some good progress on our goals."