Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 is planning to move forward with renovations and upgrades to Lincoln Middle School this summer.
The board of education initially considered, back in January, putting a $10 million addition onto Lincoln Middle School, but the board of education has decided to renovate the school and make upgrades instead.
At its April 18 meeting, the Board approved a $1.6 million contract with Midwest Mechanical Group LLC. According to Communications Specialist Chris Lilly, construction will be done in two phases, with the first phase, Phase 1A, beginning in the summer.
Phase IA will include purchasing equipment and securing workers. It also will include:
- A new HVAC system for the lower level.
- New lower-level tile and sump pump.
- Excavating the auditorium floor.
- Relocating the ejector sump and pump.
- Plumbing rough-in for new fixtures.
- Installing dedicated outdoor air systems to provide ventilation to the basement.
- Providing floor protection of staging and work areas as required.
- Providing off-site disposal for demolished HVAC equipment and ceiling, walls and associated material scheduled for demolition.
District documents show that Phase I renovations to Lincoln would include remodels and upgrades to many of the building’s classrooms along the north hallway and are estimated to cost between $8.5 million and $10.5 million. The project would include the following work:
- Renovating the existing TV studio and computer lab into a broadcasting suite.
- Removing portions of the existing wall in the TV studio and computer lab.
- Repairing and waterproofing the existing concrete foundation walls and floor slab.
- Adding exterior windows where feasible.
- Renovating the existing auditorium and stage into two industrial arts classrooms.
- Adding a science prep room between the school’s existing science labs.
- Creating five special education classrooms.
- Creating a classroom for a structured learning community and social and emotional learning.
- Creating a life skills room, motor skills room and sensory room.
- Renovating existing classrooms into administrative spaces.
- Renovating existing classrooms into nurse and student support spaces.
- Converting two science classrooms into a general classroom.
- Converting the existing woodshop and industrial arts classrooms into science classrooms.
- Convert the wood storage room into a classroom.
District documents show that the board is still considering a building addition to Lincoln under a second phase of construction, but the details are pending as the board mulls over going to referendum in the November election to ask voters for approval for financing.
The majority of Phase IB, which will take on the remainder of Phase I renovations, will occur between August 2024 and August 2025, according to Lilly.
Superintendent Ben Collins said the board shifted away from building a one-story addition at Lincoln to only house a special education wing because the district visualized the space for a cafeteria space and multipurpose room, citing that most events that Lincoln parents would normally go to end up being held at Emerson Middle School.
“We kept coming back to the fact that the northwest area is really the best final resting place for the next 100 years of that school, of where that cafeteria space would be,” said Collins. “If that’s the case, let’s do it right.”
Collins said adding a building addition in a second phase of construction would set up the school better for the long run and would also free up the district to spend money for maintenance it needs, like preventing flooding in the basement.
Lilly told Pioneer Press the special education wing will have a capacity of 128 students. Lilly said students who live in the district’s boundaries, who might otherwise go to Emerson, would attend Lincoln for its structured learning community or social and emotional learning classrooms if that is recommended according to a student’s Individualized Education Program.
At a PTO meeting in January, Superintendent Ben Collins said Washington Elementary School has a structured learning community meant to educate students on the autism spectrum. The emotional support classrooms would be available for educating students who typically need the help of social workers and have a history of trauma.
At the meeting Collins said the district spends $1.14 million in tuition and $280,000 in transportation fees annually to send students who need a structured learning community or an emotional support classroom to schools out of the district. Lilly said the district currently outplaces around 30 students because it doesn’t offer those students the resources they need. Lilly said if 10 of those students could be brought back to the district, the district could save $98,000 a year, and would offset the cost of employing a staff member.
The board has until August to decide if it wants to go to referendum to ask voters for $98 million and it has been holding community engagement events to get feedback from residents, who would have to pay for the project with increases in property taxes.
