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Construction on Homer Junior High School and Hadley Middle School in Homer Glen is expected to begin in May after the Homer Elementary District 33C Board voted Tuesday to approve a $28.3 million addition.
The two schools, adjacent to one another on Bell Road, will be connected as part of District 33C’s effort to address overcrowding and add classroom space while preparing for an influx of students based on a demographer’s projections.
The district sought a base bid that would add classrooms, a library and shared cafeteria as well as 10 alternates, including a new gym and other renovations.
If the district opted to include all the amenities, the project would cost about $31.8 million.
Officials said that figure is too high because the district needs to address growth at its elementary schools in the next few years as the grade level centers are filling up sooner than originally projected.
“At the end of the day, whichever alternates you don’t pick, you have a master plan for this entire project,” said architect Jim Petrakos of Tria Architecture.
The board considered two bids from Chicago Heights Construction Company.
The first option at $27.7 million added 18 classrooms to accommodate 504 students, but did not include a gym. The second option at $28.3 million added 13 classrooms to accommodate 364 students and a gym.
Both options included a cafeteria and library as well more offices and storage space.
The board unanimously approved the $28.3 million option that includes the gym, which creates a lot of flexibility, Superintendent Craig Schoppe said.
School board members said they were concerned about inflation and whether building a gym now would be less expensive. Building the gym now would also be the least disruptive, Petrakos said.
“It really comes down to just making dust once,” he said.
The gym feature costs about $3.8 million, and would likely be higher if the board opted for it later, Petrakos said. Prices are likely to increase 5% to 6% each year, he said.
Board President Elizabeth Hitzeman said the expansion is needed to give the district as many classrooms as possible, especially with a dozen teachers using carts to travel to different rooms at Hadley Middle School. But she was concerned if the board didn’t opt to add a gym now, it would never be built.
“We are being cognizant of the money that we are spending,” Hitzeman said.
Board member Chris Trzeciak said the gym will be a huge asset for the students because gym classes are crowded.
“If you go observe a gym class at the junior high, it is frightening,” he said. “It’s a big room when there’s nobody in it, and when you see a full class in there, you’re like, holy cow. The room is packed.”
Trzeciak said the board has checked off all the boxes it can to address building needs.
The addition is expected to be completed for the 2025-26 school year, and the construction company has worked a timeline to cause the least disruptions during the school year.
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Homer Junior High and Hadley Middle School will not be able to host activities and camps this summer due to construction and will move summer camps and sports to other schools. Likewise, school registration will move from the administration center, officials said.
“We are excited to see the progress of this and how beautiful it will look,” Hitzeman said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.