District 225 summer to-do list: Student activity hallway, science classrooms, batting cages
The student activity hallway at Glenbrook North High School will be a priority of District 225 capital improvement projects this summer.
The summer work also includes a set of girls and boys bathrooms at both Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South, and modernized science classrooms at both schools, which itself carried a tab of $1.45 million.
District leadership and architectural consultant, Arcon Associates, identified the Student Activity Hallway at Glenbrook North as a candidate for renovation due to much student use and it being outdated.
"It's the one hallway at Glenbrook North where students gather during their classes," said Kim Ptak, director of Operations for Glenview High School District 225.
Already bid and approved at a little more than $311,000 are new ceilings, lighting and a new heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system. An alternative bid of $52,500 provides an upgrade to the lights and ceiling over those initially reviewed.
Board member Skip Shein noted there's no cooling in the space currently. Associate Superintendent R.J. Gravel said - "candidly" - that the lack of fresh air combined with 25-year-old carpet has created "an odor in the space."
Carpeting, new radiator covers, acoustical tiles, new furniture, painting and graphics are part of the modernization and total $333,000.
Money from the district's Capital Projects Fund, and money available from an annual transfer from the Operations and Maintenance funds would pay for the work, Gravel said.
That, along with the alternative bid for the ceiling and lights, will be brought back to the board for approval on April 10; the base bids will return at the next District 225 board meeting March 20.
"This opportunity would really give our students a very welcoming and study-friendly, student-friendly place to be, and it would accommodate a lot of students who don't have a place to go once that Student Activity Center is full," said Lauren Bonner, Glenbrook North associate principal for student services.
Overall bids for summer capital projects totaled $4.6 million, 2.4% more than estimated.
A project to replace the drapes, rigging system and acoustic ceiling at the Sheely Center for the Performing Arts at Glenbrook North will be rebid in April after the sole bid received came in 73% higher than the original estimate.
"We've already contacted four vendors, and so we feel optimistic that we're going to get at least four bids this time around," Ptak said.
That auditorium work would be deferred until the summer of 2024.
Some athletes at Glenbrook South will be happy with construction done before the end of the school year.
"As soon as possible," Superintendent Charles Johns said, acknowledging the start of the spring season.
Two outdoor baseball batting cages and one softball batting cage that are more than 30 years old and in a state of "significant deterioration," Johns said, will be replaced.
The project is estimated to cost $85,000 but already $80,000 has been earmarked for it, a combination of funding from the Glenbrook South Booster Club, money derived from athletic ticket sales, and discretionary funds dedicated to Titans baseball and softball programs.