Elmhurst D205 Cost Overruns Less Than Thought: District

ELMHURST, IL – With its latest plans, Elmhurst School District 205 is expecting the cost overruns for its projects related to a 2018 referendum to be less than the district previously thought.

In November 2018, the district's voters passed a $168.5 million referendum to pay for a number of projects, including the replacement of Lincoln and Field elementary schools.

In September, the board was told to expect an estimated $23.8 million in cost overruns. That was largely because of the expansion in the scope of building projects. The unexpected costs were also attributed to inflation and supply chain issues.

According to numbers released last week, the district reduced its estimated overruns by about $600,000, to $23.2 million.

One major project planned for next year involves interior renovations and an auditorium addition at Churchville Middle School. Another one is a media center and interior renovations at Hawthorne Elementary School. Recently, both of those projects received bids that were under the latest cost estimates.

The Churchville auditorium is an example of a project where the scope has expanded – it is now set to be 1,700 square feet larger than originally planned.

The district plans to dip into its bank accounts to cover the added costs.