District 57 School Board Meeting Highlights
Oct. 17, 2019 

Student Recognition

Kindness Ambassadors from Westbrook’s Kindness Club were recognized at the School Board meeting and received certificates of recognition from Dr. Elaine Aumiller, superintendent, and Eileen Kowalczyk, Board president. This two-year-old club has led coat and food drives, made blankets for animal shelters, planted flowers around the school, planned an outing at Feed My Starving Children and much more. We’re so proud of these kind kids! Thanks to the Westbrook students and staff who came to the meeting last night.

Summer 2020 Construction Projects Planning

Adam Parisi, assistant superintendent, finance and operations, presented potential construction projects to be completed in summer 2020. The projects are from the District’s Master Facilities Plan, which prioritizes all maintenance and improvements that are required at the buildings. The District will seek bids for the recommended projects, and the Board will vote in January on which projects to pursue. Work will begin in spring and summer 2020.

The District completed major projects last summer, including the expansion of Fairview. The 2020 projects are the next phase of addressing deferred maintenance in the buildings. The following work is under consideration:

Lincoln

=      Replace Busse Gymnasium HVAC unit and install air conditioning ($100,000)

=      Replace HVAC controls for gymnasium and main offices ($10,000)

=      Replace floors in all classrooms, cafeteria and locker room ($350,000)

=      Repair and repaint hallway lockers ($125,000)

=      Add 2 generators that can be used to restore power during outages ($70,000)

Ø Board members pointed out that if Lincoln might be rebuilt in the future, projects such as replacing floors could potentially be put on hold. By the time construction decisions for summer 2020 are made, the District will know results of the Community Survey and whether residents are supportive of building a new school or continuing to make repairs and upgrades to the aging building. This could dictate how much work will take place at Lincoln. A Board member stressed that there are currently no plans to go to referendum to build a new Lincoln and that the survey is simply intended to help the District determine the community’s opinions about how to address the building’s issues in the long and short term.

Westbrook

=      Replace HVAC controls ($20,000)

=      Purchase mobile classrooms ($70,000)

=      Replace asphalt in the basketball courts ($40,000)

=      Install sensory floors in the early childhood hallway ($10,000)

Ø When the District leased the mobiles three years ago, the referendum had not yet passed and there was uncertainty about Westbrook enrollment. A lease was a good option then. But the District is now in a better position to purchase the mobiles and save costs in the long term. We are currently in the third year of a three-year lease that expires June 30. The recommendation is to purchase the mobiles at a cost of $70,000 (the three-year lease is $54,000). The District asked the Board to approve buying the mobiles in December or January in order to save on several months of lease payments.

Lions Park

=      Rebuild and expand parking lot ($725,000)

=      Install air conditioning in the gymnasium (($50,000)

=      Replace large chiller, which is currently operating at 50 percent, and the HVAC controls on the chiller ($200,000)

Ø Originally the District planned to rebuild the parking lot, but the purchase of the house next to Lions Park last year made it possible to do a needed expansion, to alleviate congestion around the building, improve dropoff/pickup procedures and create approximately 20 extra parking spots. The parking lot plan presented by the District minimizes land elevation and flooding issues that contributed to the delay of the project last year.

Fairview

=      Rebuild and expand parking lot ($1,100,000)

Ø Like Lions Park, the Fairview parking lot is original (25 years old) and needs to be replaced due to damage and structural issues that come with age. Since construction on the lot will be taking place, the District is recommending also adjusting the footprint of the lot to improve traffic flow and safety and increase the number of parking spots by about 11, due to ongoing parking shortages. Fairview requires additional space in the lot because of enrollment increases and the fact that the lot is also used for the Administration Building.

Administration Building

=      Build a receiving room at the dock entrance to separate the mechanical server and janitorial areas from the five offices and workspaces on the lower level ($125,000), to be bid as an alternate

=      Replace windows and remove asbestos ($300,000), to be bid as an alternate

Strategic Plan Scorecard Trimester Update

Dr. Aumiller gave a trimester update to the District’s Strategic Plan Scorecard. She reported that all action plans are on target for completion and that the updated Strategic Plan can be found on the website (at this link).

Illinois School Report Cards

Dr. Aumiller reported that the Illinois School Report Cards are scheduled to be released to the public on Oct. 30 and will be placed on the District website when they become available.