The Board of Education for Niles Township High School District 219 accepted bids for partial roof replacements for the district’s high schools and administrative offices at its board meeting Feb. 6.
The district has been working on partially replacing the roofs for Niles North High School, Niles West High School, and its administrative offices on Gross Point Avenue, which doubles as Niles Central High School. The board approved the lowest bid for $1.63 million from DGC Roofing Solutions.
The roof work is expected to be completed by 2027, according to the district’s Director of Operations Sarah Kowalski. Kowalski told Pioneer Press that the schools’ roofs are more than 20 years old and that the work being done to replace them is a preventive maintenance project. The district received five bids when officials started requesting them on Nov. 30, 2023. Kowalski said the roofing project would not affect any of the solar panels the district has set up.
Kowalski said from the $1.63 million bid approved by the district that $865,000 will go to Niles West, $145,000 will go to Niles North, and $625,000 will go to the district office for partial roof replacements.
Kowalski said the district spent $4.8 million from 2017 to 2023 on partial roof replacements to Niles North. In the same period, the district spent $5.3 million at Niles West for its roof replacement. From 2020 to 2022, the district spent $116,000 on the district office.
Kowalski said the district is estimated to spend an additional $1.5 million to complete the roof replacement at Niles North and will need board approval for it next year.
The district will also spend $46,950 for a car lift for the Niles West Automotive Lab from Napa Auto Parts. The district will be able to acquire the lift in 20 weeks. The board of education accepted a $1,000 gift card from Advance Auto Parts at 5226 Touhy Ave. The gift card donation is designed to benefit the district’s two automotive technology programs.