District 204 not sure what to do with Indian Plains building
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 has a building that's been used for nearly 14 years past its estimated life span and a deadline to decide what to do about it.
School board members have until Oct. 1 to choose whether to keep and renovate, tear down or turn into an elementary school the Indian Plains building at 1332 N. Eola Road, which is being used as an alternative high school.
The core of the building, constructed in 1929, had a 75-year life expectancy that expired around 2004.
Todd DePaul, director of building operations for the district that serves parts of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbook and Plainfield, said the structure has deteriorating masonry with bricks popping out of place, windows in need of repair and some areas accessible only by stairs, out of line with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Fixing it would cost $1.5 million; turning it into an elementary school would cost $1.9 million; and tearing it down would cost $650,000.
"Our issue with Indian Plains is we've kicked the can down the road for as many years as we can," Superintendent Karen Sullivan said, "and we have to make a decision about whether we're going to invest in the building."
DePaul said he needs to know by Oct. 1 what the board wants to do with Indian Plains so renovations or demolition could begin in summer 2019 - when the oldest segment of the building will be 90 years old. Otherwise, if the district keeps the facility but doesn't begin fixing it, officials risk further masonry damage and water infiltration - plus the possibility of having to fix those issues during the school year.
School board member Justin Karubas said the building's age proves its time is up.
"It's life expectancy is negative-14," Karubas said. "That hits the point home - it's past its useful life."
But others asked for additional information before deciding whether to call it quits for Indian Plains.
How much could the district profit by selling it? How much could the district save each year by demolishing it? Or by shutting it down and saving on operations? Will student populations justify keeping it as an elementary school?
DePaul said he will prepare answers to the questions for a future board meeting, when officials also could be asked to hire a consultant to conduct a demographic study that will examine population distribution.
But Indian Plains isn't the district's only facilities concern; officials also have been underspending on roof repairs.
It would take an estimated $1.8 million a year to keep roofs across 33 schools up to date. But since the 2011-12 school year, District 204 has never once spent that much - coming closest this year with $1.1 million spent on roof replacement at Neuqua Valley High School and Kendall Elementary School.
A total of $4.8 million in projects to improve roofs at eight schools that are between 21 and 32 years old has been put off since 2012.
"We're falling behind the amount of roofs we should be doing," DePaul said. "We're determining which ones get done by the ones that leak the most."
The district also has decisions to make about the use of the Wheatland building, a space crowded with mismatched uses including administrative offices for food service and facility management contractors, a mail room, a warehouse for cleaning supplies, a workshop for grounds crews and classrooms for a program called STEPS for students with special needs between ages 18 and 22.
"The issue here is our STEPS program continues to increase, needing more room," DePaul said. "We either need to find a different space for them or move other uses out to a better-suited space for them to operate."
As school board members consider these facilities challenges, some have begun to question whether it's time to ask voters if they would approve higher taxes to preserve district assets.
"We're effectively borrowing from our schools," Karubas said. "The bills are coming due."