Who will pay for work at Lake Zurich schools?
Lake Zurich Unit District 95 could be on the hook for roughly $2.5 million worth of structural repairs at two of its newer schools in Hawthorn Woods, and for problems with additions built to Lake Zurich High School.
The school board's committee of the whole Thursday night received the latest cost estimates for repairs needed at Spencer Loomis Elementary, Middle School North and the high school Performing Arts Center and the field house.
District officials recently discovered structural problems with the roof and wall anchors at the 4-year-old Loomis School. Repair work to correct that is underway and is expected to be completed before school starts Aug. 26.
"We're right now in the process of going in and putting angled steel reinforcement and making alternate connections there," said Mary Kalou, assistant superintendent for business and operations.
Officials have now identified similar problems with the roof/wall and floor/wall connections at adjacent Middle School North.
Kalou said further inspection of the stairwells at both schools revealed inadequate vertical reinforcement of masonry walls in the two-story portion of the schools. The district authorized emergency repair work to fix those problems.
Other repairs to maintain the long-term integrity of the middle school will be made when students are out. Certain roof/wall connections in the two schools' gymnasiums also need repairs.
District officials said they hope to recoup the money for all repairs from the builder, architect and contractors through a lawsuit.
District 95 filed a lawsuit in January against Waukegan-based Legat Architects, which designed the two new schools, and Chicago-based Bovis Lend Lease, which oversaw the construction, and a host of other contractors.
That lawsuit was to recover more than $1.5 million the district has spent for foundation repairs at the 5-year-old Middle School North to stop one wing from sinking.
These new repair items will likely be added to the suit, unless the district can work out some agreement with the original contractors, Kalou said.
The district is also dealing with two major issues with the high school's new additions. The school's Performing Arts Center and drama room floors are bubbling up, and a field house retaining wall is failing.
Kalou said the district is in discussions with the company that originally installed the floors to fix the problem, estimated to cost between $100,000 and $140,000.
The field house retaining wall was temporarily fixed by the original contractor, but a permanent fix is needed to prevent further movement. The estimated cost to repair the wall is $350,000 to $500,000.
"What will probably happen is we'll file a lawsuit," Kalou said. "The original contractor on the job has not been responding to letters from our attorney."
Separately, the district entered into a settlement agreement earlier this year for repair work done on the field house floor, which was damaged by retractable bleachers. That cost the district roughly $8,000.
A parent information meeting on the structural issues is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the common cafetorium of Loomis School and Middle School North.