By Chris Fox
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a regular meeting on May 24 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. The meeting included a presentation from Todd Schmidt, the district’s director of facilities.
Schmidt noted that the new Lincoln Elementary School would be ready to open at the start of the upcoming 2022-23 school year. He said that a few finishing touches remain on the project to build the new school and that the school’s new furniture should arrive in early July.
Schmidt mentioned that the district planned to replace the stadium scoreboard at York High School this summer, but he said the project will cost more than the district allocated. The district allocated $100,000 for the project to replace the scoreboard, but Schmidt said that three options for the project cost between $130,000 to $160,000. He said the district is looking for alternative revenue sources to fund the purchase of the new scoreboard, and that the issue would be brought back to the board at a later date. Schmidt, who said the project probably would not be done this year, noted that the stadium’s current scoreboard is working.
Additionally, Schmidt said that any new sign at York’s stadium would have to be approved by the City of Elmhurst. He said a new scoreboard would be included in the city’s signage ordinance.
Bryan Middle School gravel lot cleanup
Schmidt referred to the gravel lot near Bryan Middle School that until recently served as a storage space for district vehicles and equipment. The district recently purchased a separate property to store its vehicles and equipment. Schmidt said the district will clean up the gravel lot near Bryan Middle School. That cleanup work will include removing overgrown shrubs and bushes. He said the district will then consider its options for what it will do with the space.
Schmidt said the district had allocated $350,000 to spend on improvements at Hawthorne Elementary School this summer. The improvements included drainage work, replacing asphalt and the addition of synthetic turf. Schmidt said, however, that two recent bids to conduct those improvements came in above the district’s allocated amount. One of those bids reportedly came in at a total of about $520,000, while the other was about $545,000. Schmidt said the district would hold off on its planned improvements at Hawthorne this summer and re-evaluate its plans at a later date.
