'Not Sexy': Lyons Township High Trims Building Plans

LA GRANGE, IL – The Lyons Township High School board this week voted for a scaled-down version of building projects next year.

This means the school is delaying indefinitely an estimated $6.6 million for classroom modernization at North Campus. Officials had hoped this project would update classrooms to the standards of other schools.

Instead, the school board approved seeking bids for an estimated $11.6 million in less flashy North Campus projects – additional air conditioning, restroom renovations and an elevator renovation.

"The costs have far exceeded what our expectations were," board member Jill Beda Daniels said, "so our dream list had to come back down to the reality of doing boring stuff."

Added member Elvia Nava, "It's not sexy."

In March, the board found it would have less money for projects in later years. That was after bids for this summer's projects came in 25 percent higher than expected.

The lack of money sparked a suggestion to look into asking voters to raise property taxes. The other idea is to proceed with selling the school's land in Willow Springs, which led to an uproar last year.

For a second meeting in a row, member Daniels said the board needed to discuss those ideas.

"It's like the elephant in the room, between the land and the referendum," she said. "I clearly see we're at a point where we are out of money."

Board member Michael Thomas questioned the recommendation to drop classroom modernization from next year's plans. He said it had long been on the list.

"That's my concern and angst," he said. "This is my perspective of why I have issues of where we are at."

Thomas was the lone dissenter in the vote to go out to bid for the $11.6 million in projects.

Delayed indefinitely are the classroom modernization, installation of an artificial turf field and an additional elevator at North Campus.

Most of this summer's projects are at South Campus. The main ones are the addition of a new cafeteria and a renovation of the current cafeteria into the new music wing.