As its facilities get older, District 204 weighs the price of repairs

By Suzanne Baker sbaker@stmedianetwork.com April 24, 2014 8:17PM

Students enter the main door at Longwood Elementary School in Naperville. The Indian Prairie School Board is wrestling with a consultant's estimate that it will cost $3.2 million over the next 20 years for general upkeep of the school because Longwood is only one of 33 schools in the district. | Suzanne Baker ~ Sun-Times Media

storyidforme: 65384007 tmspicid: 23385358 fileheaderid: 11414386

Updated: April 25, 2014 10:08AM

Indian Prairie School District 204 Board members initially appeared a bit shell-shocked after finding out it could cost the district $176 million over the next two decades for needed school maintenance work.

Board members are wrestling with the cost of fixing district facilities against the cost of reducing class sizes, providing air conditioning, and other issues facing the district.

District 204, which experienced a building boom in the 1990s, now is looking at the cost of general facility repairs or replacements at the schools that are turning around 20 years old.

To help the district determine the urgency of the repairs, the district hired consultant EMG Inc. to perform a facility assessment of the districts 33 schools and administration building.

Jay Strang, assistant superintendent for business, said setting aside money for maintenance has not been a priority in recent years.

We have deferred maintenance over the last four to five years to deal with the difficult economic times, and we are running into a situation where some of our bigger systems our roofing systems, our HVAC systems need some attention and that will be a priority, Strang said.

Original post:
As its facilities get older, District 204 weighs the price of repairs