$9M building improvements planned for Grant Park Elementary

GRANT PARK – At Grant Park Elementary School, one could walk down a hallway and see windows open in one classroom and kids wearing coats in another classroom.

That is because the heating system at the school is 35 to 40 years old, and it’s only 30% to 40% efficient.

In the same instance, one classroom might be about 50 degrees while another is upwards of 90 degrees.

“We have no control over temperature,” said Grant Park Superintendent John Palan. “When we release heat, it will overheat some rooms and not heat others.”

For the hotter months, the school utilizes window AC units rather than a centralized air conditioning system.

Grant Park School District is currently in the process of gaining the Illinois State Board of Education’s approval to make about $8.9 million in upgrades to Grant Park Elementary School, which would include a new HVAC system and other work.

This week, the Grant Park School Board voted to authorize Healy Bender Patton & Been Architects to submit a health and life safety amendment to the Illinois State Board of Education.

If approved by the state, the district would then be allowed to sell health and life safety bonds to fund its needed projects. A separate board vote and public hearing would take place first before selling the potential bonds.

School districts are required to conduct surveys of needed health and life safety improvements every 10 years through a licensed architect. Grant Park’s survey was done in 2022.

Grant Park Elementary’s improvements would also include a new roof and a replacement for the front entryway to the school optimized for safety and security, plus other items to bring the building up to code for health and life safety.

Palan said the district has been discussing what kinds of upgrades are needed for the elementary school since the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly due to the deteriorating roof and antiquated heating system.

“We looked at every avenue, including building a new elementary school,” he said.

Building a new school would have cost more than $40 million, with building costs on the rise since the pandemic.

A significant capital improvement plan was also discussed, including all needed repairs and an addition to expand the school’s space, but that would have cost over $15 million.

Instead, the district scaled back the scope of the improvements to just essential repairs and items for around $9 million.

“We’ve spent a good chunk of money on repairs over the years trying to upkeep, but our architects informed us we can’t even get parts for a lot of our aging boilers,” Palan said.

Some of the boilers are from the original 1952 school building.

The outdated system results in extremely high heating costs, meanwhile the school can’t regulate its own temperature.

A new HVAC system is estimated at about $2.7 million to $2.9 million.

The need for increased safety and security at the elementary school was also targeted, particularly at the front entryway to the school.

An upgraded vestibule area and corridor with a buzz-in system and possible redesign of the front offices would help to screen potential visitors before they enter the school.

The whole system would likely be in the range of $500,000 to $700,000. The district will contribute its own funds for the project if needed, Palan said.

The timeline of moving forward with the work will be contingent on receiving approval from the state of Illinois. Palan expects to hear from state officials within the next 60 days.

“Nothing is affirmative yet,” he said.

At a public hearing before Monday’s vote to submit the amendment, Grant Park School Board President Tim Markland said the board has spent the past four years doing its homework.

“It’s critical that we made this choice now,” he said.

Markland said it has also been important for the board to have full disclosure with the public about the process, discussing the matter during open meetings and giving the public opportunities to speak on the matter.

“We have done everything in our power to make the most responsible decision with health-life safety bonds,” Markland said. “It is necessary that we do pay attention to our elementary school. The boiler is going to be failing, so we want to be able to create and enhance [the environment] where our students learn and our teachers go to teach.

“… At the end of the day, it is our responsibility to provide the safest possible educational scenario for our students.”

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