The West Aurora School Board is reviewing $26 million in proposed infrastructure and building projects including the construction of a maintenance and storage facility as well as work at a number of schools and the stadium at West Aurora High School.
The projects being examined would be for between summer 2022 and summer 2024, according to board documents.
The stadium work proposed would cost about $1.3 million and include improvements to the track, concessions and fencing at the site, as well as an upgrade to the turf there.
The proposed maintenance and storage facility would be off of Deerpath Road south of Herget Middle School and cost about $4.3 million, according to board documents.
It would include a central location for maintenance operations and storage facilities including a salt dome.
Storage facilities are vital since the district purchases supplies and materials in bulk to save money, and needs space to store and distribute those products, district officials said.
“Our purchasing power is stronger with volume,” West Aurora School District Superintendent Jeff Craig said.
The district is looking to erect the facility at the southern end of the site near Verona Ridge Drive, West Aurora School District Assistant Superintendent of Operations Angie Smith said.
“We are cognizant of the fact that we are in a residential area. We are good neighbors,” Smith said.
The buildings at the site would be designed to store equipment inside, while repairs are done in a garage at the district’s transportation site.
The district’s maintenance department is currently housed near the West Aurora High School stadium.
“All of our maintenance staff, trucks and trailers are at that location,” West Aurora School District Director of Operations Jeff Schiller told the school board.
The location is not ideal with the ongoing plans to modernize the stadium.
“We would like to get out of the area so the stadium looks more presentable,” Schiller said.
Other proposed projects in the district include roof work at Fearn Elementary and Smith Elementary and Washington Middle School.
The roof upgrades being planned are based on the age and maintenance needs of the roofs, said district architect Pat Callahan.
“Just because a roof is old does not mean it has to be replaced,” he said.
The West Branch of the Aurora Public Library on Constitution Avenue, next to Washington Middle School, is under the same roof as the school. The district is looking to participate with the library district to complete the roof work as a whole, Callahan said.
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Paving work is also proposed at the district’s Administrative Center as well as at Fearn Elementary and Greenman Elementary campuses.
Other paving projects identified are at Hope D. Wall School, Smith Elementary and at the West Aurora High School stadium as part of the ongoing modernization project.
Several projects centering on energy-efficient window and door replacements have been identified at Goodwin Elementary and Hope D. Wall School, Hall Elementary and Nicholson Elementary, Washington Middle School and Jefferson Middle School as well as at West Aurora High School, officials said.
Playground improvements are also being proposed in the district at an estimated $325,000.
Along with district money, other funding sources for the improvement projects include federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief grants and maintenance grant funding, officials said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.