Dist. 211 board gets to work

Work on artificial turf at Conant, Hoffman Estates and Palatine high school fields is expected to start this month.

That should cap off a series of facilities improvements that started in 2006 for Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211. As Conant officials last week celebrated the completion of a science wing, work still needs to be completed on science facilities at Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg High. That work should be finished by August, Assistant Superintendent of Business David Torres said.

With new board member Ed Yung seated at his first meeting, taking over for Bill Lloyd who didn't run for re-election, the board voted to transfer $5 million from both its operations and maintenance fund and its working cash fund to its capital projects fund.

Construction work is ahead of schedule, and the district needs to money earlier than anticipated, Torres said. The money from the projects came from a $53 million bond issue in 2006. The project hasn't gone over budget, Torres added.

That bond issue did not include money for the new artificial turf surfaces for the athletic fields. The turf project is mostly funded from proceeds from two legal settlements and the sale of property to Palatine Township Elementary District 15. Costs for new turf and tracks at the five fields are about $8.7 million.

Superintendent Nancy Robb said she didn't anticipate much in construction in the near future. That came into response to board member Lynn Davis questioning how much work the technology and construction committees would do. With the new board meeting for the first time on Thursday, board members have the chance to switch committees.

Likewise, the board also had the chance to elect new officers. Robert LeFevre will remain as board president. The board voted George Brandt to replace Davis as vice president and Debra Strauss to replace Anna Klimkowicz as secretary. Davis and Klimkowicz voted against all three appointments.