District 113 is poised to borrow $4.5 million for “life safety” improvements officials say are needed at Highland Park and Deerfield high schools.
On Monday night, school board members voted unanimously to approve a resolution “declaring the intention” to borrow $4.5 million to address needed upgrades identified in a building safety assessment required by the state every 10 years, officials said. A public hearing will be held on March 16; the school board will make its final vote on March 23.
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The projects, identified in a report by the Perkins and Will architecture firm, include adding exits to some rooms, improving the fire-proofing insulation of some walls, replacing doors and adding sprinkler systems among other upgrades, according to the draft documents on the district website.
School districts are allowed to issue bonds for life safety projects under state law, said Superintendent George Fornero said, but the projects must be approved the state – and that hasn’t happened yet.
“What we are doing is make a list of projects that we believe – there’s no guarantee – will qualify under the guidelines for life safety,” Fornero said.
A $4.5 million bond issuance would cost the owner of a $600,000 home about $30 in additional taxes per year over the next 14 years, according to district spokeswoman Jennifer Waldorf.
The Perkins and Will report cost the district about $90,000, Waldorf said.
As of Monday, the draft list of projects identified by Perkins and Will had not been made public, leading to some calling for more transparency at the school board meeting.
“At this time, I’m opposed to the issuance of any bonds whatsoever until the public has been completely informed,” said David Greenberg, a Highland Park resident who’s running for a seat on the school board in April.
Likewise, school board member David Small said more detailed information should be provided to the public.
“My personal position is we have an obligation to the community to provide a high degree of transparency,” said Small, who’s running for reelection in April, on Monday night.
District officials said Monday that the life safety report was not a public document because it was considered the architecture firm’s property until submitted to the state for approval.
By mid-morning Tuesday, the district reversed course and posted the draft list of projects on its website.
The full cost of projects identified in the Perkins and Will report was about $11.5 million, said Barry Bolek, the district’s assistant superintendent for finance, of which about $4.5 million were determined to be “urgent” or “required.”
The plan is to issue the $4.5 million in bonds at the same time as the final $6.7 million in remaining debt from the $89 million bond referendum request, approved by voters in 2013, to take advantage of the low interest rates, Bolek said.
“We petitioned the state … to let us do it one year early so we could bid this project during our construction and also sell the required debt at the same time,” Bolek said. “We’ll save money by issuing the debt at the same time as the other bonds.”
The total capital project needs, estimated at about $40 million, over the next five years far exceed the available funding, Fornero said. By borrowing to take care of urgent life safety projects, Fornero said the district can save its reserve funds to address some of those other capital needs.
The life safety project is unique to Illinois, Fornero said, and followed the 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels, a Chicago Catholic school, that resulted in the death of 92 children and three teachers.
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