Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 officials recently learned it would cost between about $19 million and $25 million to install air conditioning in the five schools without it.
Officials said they would need to figure out how the possibility of air conditioning fits into the district’s overall facility plan, as well as whether they could afford the upgrades before making a decision on whether this is something they would want to pursue.
“The only way we’re going to get the entire district air-conditioned — and I’m not saying we are — but we do this over a five- or six-summer period,” board member Scott McConnell said. “I don’t think right now we know with any certainty what we would really do.”
Officials said if it got to the point where it seemed like a good plan for the district, they said they would have to discuss financing alternatives.
“It’s a lot of money,” board member Kathy Brown said.
McConnell said he didn’t think taxpayers would be in favor of spending that kind of money.
“The answer to that question from the community is going to be a resounding ‘no,’ ” he said.
After a string a 90-degree days earlier at the beginning of the school year, parents started an online petition calling for upgraded heating and cooling systems throughout the district.
As a response to that petition — and a number of parents speaking out about the issue before the board — officials agreed to spend $27,000 on a feasibility study to figure out the viability of new systems.
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Currently, only Lake Zurich High School and the shared campus of Middle School North and Spencer Loomis Elementary in Hawthorn Woods have central air.
Board members looked at a number of options, including installing limited air conditioning in gymnasiums and cafeterias to provide a sort of cooling center for students during periods of extreme heat.
While Fred Schuster of Ruck Pate Architecture, the company that completed the study, said the limited air conditioning is a short-term option, he cautioned that’s it’s not a good long-term solution because of utility costs.
Board members were also presented with the option of geothermal systems, which have a higher initial cost. But with lower utility and maintenance rates, the long-term cost might make it worth the higher initial price tag.
If the district decides not to pursue air conditioning, it would cost about $5.3 million to maintain current systems, according to a copy of the Ruck Pate report.
The work would include replacing heating systems—things like boilers and piping—at Sarah Adams Elementary, Seth Paine Elementary and May Whitney Elementary.
Isaac Fox Elementary and Middle School South, the other schools without air conditioning, would not need to be upgraded, the report said, because those systems recently were replaced.
“If we choose not to air condition the schools, sometime in the next decade we probably are going to have to bear $5 million or $5.5 million in expenses to handle the stuff that is close to or past its useful life at those three schools,” McConnell said.
Officials said the next step would be to get a better idea of the condition of the old systems in those three schools in order to get a feel for when the systems would need replacement, as well as taking a look at possible revenue sources.
“This is going to take discussion over an extended period of time,” Superintendent Mike Egan said. “We need to look at revenue sources and make sure this is planned out.”
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