Dist. 103 weighs school cooling options

Could window-mounted air conditioners effectively cool off the classrooms at Sprague School and Half Day School - and at a fraction of the cost of new, schoolwide air-conditioning systems?

That was the big question at the heart of the Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103 board's discussion on the matter Tuesday night.

No one on the panel argued the classrooms at those two schools aren't uncomfortably hot at the start and end of each school year.

"Two years in a row I've got to (student) orientation and heard it's too hot to do work," board member Sherri Thomas said.

But the potential cost of adding chilled-water equipment to the ventilation systems of the schools - estimated at $2 million - gave some board members reason to pause and pursue information about the benefits and disadvantages of individual units.

Board member Gary Walrath was the leading proponent, suggesting window units or portable air conditioners could do the job at a much lower cost - and much sooner, too.

"You could do something for a quarter of a million (dollars) by next school year," Walrath said.

The discussion arose during the board's committee of the whole meeting at Wright Junior High. No final decisions were made.

School board President David Panitch suggested gauging the community's opinion on air conditioning with a survey. Thomas said she'd most be interested in the opinions of the teachers and students who work in the affected classrooms.

Walrath's push for further investigation eventually gained an ally in board member Ben Yomtoob, who agreed that more research should be done on the pros and cons of window unit air conditioners.

Representatives of the district's architectural firm were present and said they would examine the option further.