Naperville School District 203 is making progress on three facilities projects this year, after the school board authorized contracts for the work during a meeting Monday night.
The board approved bids for multiple components of an addition and renovations at Naperville North High School, as well as the construction of a vertical lift to provide accessibility to a cardio space at Naperville Central High School, and roof replacement at Jefferson Junior High School.
The projects, which were approved at a total cost of $17.7 million, are part of the district’s yearly capital spending.
One board member objects to spending on Naperville North addition
The largest of the bid packages — listed on agenda documents as $16 million for work at Naperville North — was approved over the objection of one board member, Melissa Kelley Black.
Kelley Black said she wanted to see more detailed plans for the addition and asked the board to consider whether spending millions on it now is prudent, amid potential budget concerns.
Addition to increase educational space at North
Officials said the school board first approved the Naperville North addition for a total cost of $32.9 million in spring 2024, looking to increase educational space, eliminate the need for mobile classrooms, and create multipurpose spaces.
“Back then, we were in a different financial situation,” Kelley Black said, as she advocated for the district to delay approval of contracts for the addition and consider ways to reduce spending.
But school board member Joe Kozminski said spending on the work at North is already included in this year’s budget and comes from “the fund balance, not the operating budget.”
“These are one-time expenditures. The mobile units have already been taken out at North, so they’re down classroom space this year,” Kozminski said. “We’ve been aware of this for almost a year now, and if we hold this up, it’s just going to string the project out and potentially increase costs.”
Work to enhance safety, structural integrity
Other board members also stressed the urgency of the project, which includes structural improvements.
“Student safety is at stake, here,” school board member Kristine Gericke said. “This isn’t about some shiny new object.”
Superintendent Dan Bridges said costs for the total addition are coming in “very close but below” the budgeted amount.
“While I understand the financial situation we’re in now, where we want to look at every dollar, these are not nice-to-dos,” school board member Marc Willensky said. “These are things we need to do for student safety, for education purposes.”
Other projects approved: Vertical lift at Central, roof at Jefferson
Without objection from anyone on the panel, the school board approved a $316,000 bid to build a vertical lift at Naperville Central High School and a $1.4 million contract for roofing restoration and replacement at Jefferson Junior High.
The new lift system at Naperville Central will help meet accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act and allow a student who currently can’t access the cardio fitness area to gain entrance into the space.
Melanie Brown, director of buildings and grounds, said the district explored several ways to provide access to the cardio room, which she said is in an original portion of the building full of “old alcoves and hallways.” Using part of the stairwell near the gym to construct a vertical lift into the gym’s mezzanine proved the best solution, she said.
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