District 158 settles suits with contractors

Huntley Unit District 158 has settled lawsuits with former contractors over faulty sprinkler systems and leaks that district officials say caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to district schools.

The District 158 school board on Thursday approved a settlement agreement with Arrow Road Construction, one of the firms the district sued over leaks at Conley and Mackeben elementary schools.

Under the settlement, Arrow Road Construction has agreed to fix, at no cost to the district, the cement stoops outside some of the entrances to the schools so that water does not flow down into the buildings, Superintendent John Burkey said.

District's 158's lawsuit against the other contractors who built the elementary schools - Illinois Masonry Corp., Shales McNutt Construction, Gilfillan and Callahan Architects, Boller Construction, Hargrave Builders, McHenry County Glass and Mirror and Nelson Fire Protection - is still pending, Burkey said.

The district sued the contractors last year, claiming the water leaks could cost as much as $500,000 to fix. The district is seeking more than $50,000 from the seven remaining contractors named in suit.

District 158 has also settled a lawsuit it filed in 2006 against S.J. Carlson Fire Protection for installing what the district said were faulty school sprinkler systems.

Sprinkler malfunctions cost the district an estimated $210,000 in damage since 2002, leaking water and corroding pipes at Chesak, Leggee and Martin elementary schools, district officials said.

Under the district's settlement with S.J. Carlson Fire Protection, the contractor will fix the sprinklers at no cost to the district.