Wants vs Needs

Our school district, with 3 buildings and an enrollment of under 1100 students, has buildings of various ages and conditions. Public school buildings and school related buildings in the state are inspected annually to assure compliance with the minimum standards necessary to ensure the health and safety of public school students in Illinois, according to Building Specifications for Health and Safety in Public Schools. By law, school districts must maintain public schools to the minimum standard.

Every 10 years, all public school buildings must be resurveyed by an architect or engineer licensed by the State of Illinois. All work necessary to bring the building into compliance, with minimum standards, is noted. Upon completion of the outlined work, compliance is verified by the district and architect/engineer in a report filed with the Regional Office of Education.

The following is a list of capital projects the district has compiled.

The district hired Wold Architects to prepare a new 10 Year Health Life Safety (HLS) Survey to produce an itemized schedule of violations and remedies, priorities, and estimated cost for each item. This was completed in 2021 and presented to the BOE and administration. Each building’s structure and systems were evaluated and given a priority code of “A” (Urgent – must be addressed in the next 1 year), “B” (Required – must be addressed within 5 years) or “C” (Recommended – not required but a recommended upgrade). The following is a summary of Wold’s findings.

Of the $6.1 M in findings, $0 of items are “Urgent” or an immediate health or safety concern, $647 K of items are “Required” to be addressed in the next 5 years and $5.5 M are “Recommended” upgrades. The additional projects are items the district wants, but doesn’t need to complete, to maintain healthy and safe learning and work environments.

Who is Responsible?

Wondering where the millions in tax dollars are NOT being spent? On low cost and basic maintenance items. Please feel free to visit the district’s website to see pictures of old bus tires near the batting cage, ripped soccer nets, dead grass, a door that needs paint, and destroyed laptops.

These are just a few examples of the basic lack of maintenance services not being performed throughout our district’s properties. These items do not require an infusion of an additional $2.5M into the district’s revenue base. Parents of children should be held accountable for destroying district property. Simple grounds clean up and minor repairs should be completed by the maintenance staff simply doing their job.