Dire Situation? Center Cass Work Planned Next Year

DARIEN, IL – Last year, supporters of a property tax increase in Center Cass School District 66 contended the condition of fire alarm systems could put students in danger.

Voters narrowly passed the tax hike.

But the school board did not make the fire alarm systems an immediate priority. The project is set for next summer, a year and a half after the referendum's passage.

The alarm systems were a point of contention between tax supporters and foes.

One pro-tax flyer focused on fire safety, featuring a photo of a fire alarm pull station.

It asked, "Could kids get out quickly enough?"

The flyer also said, "Center Cass fire alarms are antiquated & unreliable."

But the local fire chief said his department saw no risk in the fire alarm systems at Center Cass schools.

"We know the system works. It has to be working," James Karasek, chief of the Darien-Woodridge Fire District, said in an interview at the time. "I don't think there is a safety issue. I think they work appropriately."

But Karasek said the district could improve its systems, making them more computer-friendly.

All the fire district's reports showed the schools' alarm systems met safety standards.

However, the school district hired a consultant who said the systems at Elizabeth Ide Elementary and Lakeview Junior High schools were aged and failed frequently, posing a risk in an emergency.

New systems for the two schools were estimated to cost nearly $150,000.

In a recent email to Patch, Center Cass Superintendent Andrew Wise said the district planned to go out to bid for the alarm systems this fall. It is set to start the work when school lets out next summer.

"We plan to have all systems checked and ready to go before students return to school in August 2024," Wise said.

After the aggressive campaign for the hike, the tax increase prevailed with a 29-vote margin out of nearly 6,000 cast. In June 2022, 60 percent of voters rejected a somewhat larger tax increase.