Renovations wind down in District 75

The workers will have come and gone by the time students in Mundelein District 75 return to school later this month, but many improvements will be in place after a flurry of building projects.

Among them are a new floor and improved lighting in the northwest gym at Carl Sandburg Middle School. Baselines and other touches are being painted on the court, but the icing on the cake will be a big tiger logo in the center.

The extra touch was made possible through donations from the school's parent teacher association, National Junior Honor Society and the student council.

Also among the projects completed at Sandburg are replacement of crumbling bricks, roof repairs and new flooring in an art room and office.

It's just a portion of more than $2.1 million spent on a variety of projects at the district's four schools during the first of three consecutive summers of work. The bulk of that budget was for roof repairs, as the district begins a comprehensive, $10 million overhaul of its buildings.

Besides roof work at all four schools as well as the district's administrative office on Route 45 in Mundelein, general improvements this year include flooring, lighting, asphalt repair and replacement, asbestos abatement and replacement of broken lunch tables.

Students likely won't find the improvements too exciting, but they are intended as a base for more noticeable future work, including the installation next summer of air conditioning in the schools.

This year's work is expected to be finished by Aug. 28, the first day of school for grades 1 through 8. Kindergarten begins Sept. 2.

Money for the work was made possible when voters last February agreed to forego a decrease in property tax rates as bonds were retired.

Instead, voters agreed to accept a smaller rate reduction that allowed the district to issue new bonds to pay for the improvements.