Flossmoor SD 161 board hears $27 million estimate for multi-school renovations, plans next-step approvals

Flossmoor SD 161 officials told the Board of Education at the meeting that work to renovate and refresh multiple district buildings through 2026 is coming into focus and that the updated consolidated estimate for the multi-year program is about $27,000,000.

District staff said the $27 million figure combines work already completed in 2024, current summer/fall work and the proposed 2026 scope that would touch Serena Hills, Heather Hill, Flossmoor Hills, Western Avenue and Parker Junior High. The presentation noted a remaining funding gap of about $11,800,000 to finish the planned scope, which staff propose to cover from the district’s working cash balance.

The presentation included these financial details presented by district staff: the final bill for 2024 work came in at about $3,645,000 (the original estimate was about $3,400,000), a long-range financial-plan line item that had been estimated at $10,700,000 is now roughly $11,300,000, and the combined program estimate is roughly $27,000,000. Staff said the district has expended about $2,200,000 in life-safety funds and has $13,000,000 in bond proceeds available; using $11,800,000 of working cash would leave an estimated balance of about $19,900,000, which staff said would be about 44 percent of the four operating funds cited (operating, O&M, transportation and working cash) and therefore within the board’s 30–50 percent fund balance policy range.

Staff outlined the work planned by building: classroom ceiling, lighting and paint refreshes; new marker and tack boards; casework repairs/replacements; select interior tuck-pointing and tile work; some exterior door and window replacements (including the Western Avenue bell tower windows); flat-panel and low-voltage technology upgrades; furniture replacement; and playground replacement at Flossmoor Hills. Parker Junior High will receive targeted mechanical work (replacement RTUs in older wings), tile replacement at the main entrance, and several exterior door replacements. Western Avenue will require ceiling and above-ceiling structural clean-up in the original 1948 section, replacement of rooftop units serving the main office, media center and STEAM lab, and playground and technology/furniture replacements.

Walden Pepper, introduced by staff as one of the district’s construction experts, explained that some older ceilings still contain original wood supports left in place under later drop-ceiling work; staff said the current work provides an opportunity to remove that wood, clean and remediate it and bring those areas into compliance. Staff also flagged mechanical systems as the largest single exposure: a district representative noted chillers, RTUs and air-handling units approaching end of life and estimated a single chiller replacement could cost about $1,000,000 and RTUs roughly $150,000–$200,000 each.

District staff stressed that the estimate has contingency built in and that they scrutinized each line item with vendor and consultant input. Given volatility in mechanical-equipment pricing and recent market events, staff said they would seek to purchase major mechanical equipment earlier in the schedule (staff suggested as early as October) and separate equipment procurement from labor bids so price exposure on equipment could be locked in before the district issues full construction bids (staff estimated full bid documents would be ready in December or January).

At the meeting staff said next steps will include bringing to the board, at the next meeting, an action to approve the project scope and a fee letter to Wold (the district’s architect/engineer) to begin the design phase and develop bid documents. Staff also recommended reactivating or refreshing the district’s long-range planning process and forming a committee in the fall to engage parents, staff and board members on priorities and sequencing for later projects.

Board members asked questions about whether the program is aiming for uniform classroom finishes across buildings versus addressing each building’s highest-priority infrastructure needs; staff said the plan does both — standard classroom finishes (lighting, ceilings, paint, furniture, flat panels) across classrooms while prioritizing key mechanical and life-safety work by building. Staff noted other future facility needs that remain beyond this scope, including the sixth-grade chiller at Parker, the Parker walk-in freezer reaching end of life, Western Avenue playground replacement and controls upgrades at Flossmoor Hills.

Staff framed the proposed use of working cash as consistent with the board’s policy to avoid “banking” excessive reserves and to return tax revenue to the community through capital investment. The district did not propose any immediate tax-levy increase at this meeting; staff said formal borrowing or bond measures would be considered later if needed as projects are finalized.

Board members and staff agreed to return in a future meeting with the design-fee approval and a scope-resolution for the board to act on; staff said they will also propose a timeline for reconstituting a long-range planning committee that would help prioritize projects for the 2026–2027 school year.