Donations pour in to fund Libertyville High's art gallery
Back in April when a proposal to open an art gallery at Libertyville High went public, school district officials didn't sound confident the project would get off the drawing board.
The plan had a $249,000 price tag, and community advocates were told they had to raise most of the money before Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 officials would contribute to the effort or even agree to provide the space.
Eight months later, the price tag has dropped, money has been raised and the project is nearing reality.
"I am just overwhelmed at the generosity of the folks who have contributed and by how hard everyone has worked to make this happen," said B-J Jones, chairwoman of the Libertyville Wildcats Fine Arts Foundation.
The school board could vote Monday to hire a contractor to convert a meeting room near the school auditorium into an art gallery. The space will be used to show off the work of students from Libertyville High and other schools, as well as local artists, Jones said.
"It will change all the time," she said.
An artist-in-residence program, in which a local artist would display work and teach students, also is being considered, she said. The space could be used as a conference room, too.
The Walter Daniels Construction Co. of Chicago is set to build the glass-enclosed gallery, if the school board approves the deal.
The firm's cost estimate for the job was $117,434, said Yasmine Dada, the district's assistant superintendent for business. That's less than half what school officials initially thought the work would cost.
Organizers eliminated some of the plan's "bells and whistles" to make it more affordable, Jones said.
The Fine Arts Foundation has pledged $50,000 for the project. It's already raised $32,000 and will borrow the difference, Jones said.
The school's arts club will contribute $19,000. The school board is set to chip in $50,000 in district funds.
"We are amazed at the tireless efforts of the LHS community who (raised money) to make the art gallery a reality," Principal Marina Scott said in an e-mail. "It will provide a beautiful showroom for our students, as well as local artists."
If the full board approves the project when it meets at 7 p.m. Monday at Vernon Hills High, construction will begin soon and take about three months, Dada said.
The project is the latest community-funded effort in District 128.
The fine arts foundation partially funded an overhaul of the Libertyville High auditorium in 2007. Local residents and business owners also paid for the installation of an artificial-turf field at Libertyville High in 2005.
At Vernon Hills High, volunteers in 2008 raised money to replace the grass infield on the varsity baseball field with artificial turf.