Dist. 200 completes $1.6 million in capital projects before first day
Getting to the right classrooms on time, remembering locker combinations and making good first impressions on teachers were a few things on the minds of kids heading back to school in Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200.
But administrators had much bigger things on their minds leading up to Wednesday, such as making sure nearly $1.6 million in capital projects - including playground improvements, sealcoating, new roofs, tuckpointing and concrete work - were completed in time for the first day of class.
"As our facilities age we've got to continue to invest in protecting those assets," Superintendent Jeff Schuler said. "I'm glad we got those projects done, but there's a lot more right behind them."
The most expensive projects were the installation of new roofs at Monroe Middle School and Sandburg Elementary. They cost slightly more than $1 million together.
"We've got, as part of our capital project list, a roof repair and replacement plan," Schuler said. "Sandburg was certainly due."
One of the next biggest projects was the refinishing of the gym floor and installation of new bleachers at Wheaton Warrenville South High School, which totaled about $233,000.
"You will certainly notice when you walk in," Schuler said, adding that the bleachers are not only more functional and better-looking than the previous bleachers, which were installed more than 40 years ago, but also solve some safety concerns.
Members of the Whittier Elementary community likely noticed the new look at the front of the school Wednesday morning after it received about $228,000 worth of tuckpointing and concrete work.
There were no changes to the playground equipment at Sandburg, Lincoln, Emerson, Whittier, Bower and Wiesbrook elementaries, but the playing surfaces were repaired and additional mulch was installed.
Other schools that underwent work were Wheaton Warrenville South High School, where the field house floor was repainted, and Franklin Middle School, where, along with South, a new air conditioning compressor was installed.
Schuler said after visiting about 10 schools and seeing a lot of smiling faces, it appeared everything ran smoothly on day one.
"I did not hear of significant issues with the major operational pieces. Those are the things we are concerned about the first day: are buses going to run, is food going to be served?" he said. "I'm really pleased. We had a really nice first day."