Big LTHS Project Delayed A Year; Supply Chain Blamed

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School had planned to replace the nine air-handling units for the North Campus Fieldhouse this summer.

At one point, the contractor had planned to use a helicopter to set the units on the building.

The problem: The units could not be delivered until late October, well into the school year. With that timeline, the installation would have begun in late November.

In a memo this week, Brian Stachacz, the school's business services director, said the school must delay the project until next summer.

The new units would heat and cool the building, while the current ones only heat it.

"(W)e have made the unfortunate decision to delay the start of the project until the summer of 2023 when we all know that all of the equipment will have been delivered and can be installed," Stachacz said in the memo.

He blamed supply chain issues that are "completely out of our control."

He said the school expected added costs for storage and wage increases, but it does not have reliable information yet.

Stachacz said the school would share any information on costs with the board as it becomes available.