By Chris Fox
For The Elmhurst Independent
At the regular meeting of Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held on May 25, there was a presentation given by Craig Siepka of Wight and Company, the district’s architect, of the revised architectural plans for Field, Fischer and Jackson elementary schools. It included options for upcoming construction and renovation projects at all three schools.
Such renovation projects are typically undertaken in collaboration with real estate developers such as Lincoln Frost, who devise a strategy for what to build or rebuild on the property. They attract investors and forecast how much money the new projects will cost. It is unclear, however, who might be hired as a real estate consultant in this case.
According to the presentation, the estimated costs of the upcoming projects at the three schools exceed the budgeted amount from the referendum of November 2018. District voters approved the borrowing of $168.5 million in November 2018 to upgrade the district’s facilities.
According to Siepka’s presentation, $29 million from the November 2018 referendum was dedicated toward building a new Field Elementary School. The presentation gave two options for a new school building. One of the options had an estimated cost of $31-34 million. The other option had an estimated cost of $35-37 million.
The construction of the new Field Elementary School is expected to begin in the summer of 2022.
Increase in material costs, underestimated student numbers cause overages
Terry Fielden of ICI, the district’s construction management firm, said the increased estimates for the projects were related to higher material costs. Additionally, the proposed options exceeded budgeted amounts because those options included classroom capacities that accommodated higher enrollments. Previous enrollment projects reportedly underestimated the number of students who would attend the new and renovated schools that were discussed during the meeting.
Linda Yonke, the district’s interim superintendent, said the district is planning to conduct a demographic study later this year.
Board member Christopher Kocinski asked how much of the $168.5 million in referendum funds had already been committed. Todd Schmidt, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, said that about $70 million had already been committed. Schmidt did say that the project to replace Lincoln Elementary School, which will begin this summer, is under budget, as is the current renovation and expansion project at Edison Elementary School.
According to the presentation at the May 25 meeting, the renovation project at Fischer Elementary School, scheduled to take place in the summer of 2022, had a budget of $5.4 million in referendum-related funding. One option presented during the meeting, however, had a project estimate of $6-6.5 million. The other option had an estimate of $7.5-8 million.
Fischer had a total enrollment of 418 K-5 students during the 2015-16 school year, according to information provided during the presentation. The school had 533 students during the 2020-21 school year. Schmidt said that enrollment at the school will continue to rise.
Schmidt said that of the upcoming projects, the one at Field School requires the most immediate attention from the board. The board will also have to provide direction this summer about the project at Fischer School.
The presentation at the May 25 meeting stated that the renovation project at Jackson Elementary School included a budget of $5.4 in referendum funds. The project, however, now has an estimated cost of $7-7.5 million.
According to information in the presentation, Jackson’s current kindergarten enrollment is 80, which is higher than the previously projected estimate of 73. The school’s current first-grade enrollment is 88. The previously projected enrollment for the current first-grade class was 73, which turned out to be about 20 percent too low.
Kocinski asked district officials to come back to the board with additional information as to what figures are related to cost overruns and what figures are related to changes in scope from the original projects.
