The presence of asbestos-containing materials will add to the overall costs of the ongoing addition at Glencoe’s Central School, officials said.
District 35 Director of Finance and Operations Jason Edelheit said upon razing the existing Central School administration office, crews discovered asbestos in the mastic underneath some of the finishes and fixtures. Mastic is a sealant often used in construction projects to bond materials such as floor tiles and wall panels.
“While we did not find any actual floor tiles containing asbestos, the presence of asbestos in the mastic necessitates careful handling and remediation to ensure safety and compliance with environmental regulations,” Edelheit wrote in a June 7 memo to the school board.
Edelheit sensed the mastic was original to that wing of the Central School building that he said was constructed in 1967.
“In the 1980s they did a renovation where they covered it up and went over it instead of abating it,” Edelheit said in an interview. “That is why we found it now.”
District 35 Board President Kelly Glauberman said she was not concerned about the discovery of the materials.
“The age of the building dictates you always have to be on the lookout for it,” she said. “It was in the mastic, it was never exposed. It was only a problem when they were doing construction.”
Edelheit stated the removal of the materials would add approximately $100,000 to the cost of the Central School renovation, currently estimated at $4.5 million including contingency fees.
The goal of the project is to add roughly 3,200 square feet to the administrative offices, along with new classrooms, a new South Avenue entrance, a conference room and teacher’s lounge and nurse’s office.
Edelheit said the asbestos removal will add another week to the timeline, but he expects the project to be mostly completed by the start of the school year in late August.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.