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The District U-46 School Board is expected to approve a change order Monday that will add nearly $2 million to the pricetag of the renovation/addition work being done at Kimball Middle School on Elgin’s west side.

“As you know, Kimball is one of the district’s most complex projects, involving a multiphase modernization of both the new and the existing building areas to support the transition to a full sixth- through eighth grade-middle school model,” Deputy Superintendent of Operations Ann Williams told the board at its Feb. 12 meeting.

The school is being expanded and improved to accommodate sixth-grade students at a cost that is now $65 million including the additional $2 million. Currently the school houses about 552 seventh- and eighth-graders, according to the Illinois State Report Card.

A short-term alternative education program for K-8 students attending District U46 schools would be set up in three classrooms at Kimball Middle School in Elgin, officials said.
Rafael Guerrero / The Courier-News
When work is finished on a 53,000-square-foot expansion to Kimball Middle School in Elgin, it will be able to accommodate up to 1,100 students. Currently, its enrollment is 552. (The Courier-News)

The 53,000-square-foot addition will increase capacity to 1,100 students when it is finished in time for the start of the 2026-27 school year this fall.

Construction started in April 2025 and as work progressed, several conditions were identified as needing to be addressed, Williams said. Among them were problems related to the mechanical systems, windows, corridor flooring, ceilings and roofing, all of which need to be replaced to ensure the new and existing buildings can function as a single, cohesive facility, she said.

“The change order includes maintenance and life cycle replacement for systems at or beyond their useful life, building cohesion and improvements so the building doesn’t open with aged or mismatched areas,” Williams said told the school board.

When board member Sue Kerr questioned if asbestos removal required by the floor removal would cause any delays, Williams said it should not.

The $2 million change order covers $1.8 million in net trade work and $200,000 for construction management and services, she said. Gilbane Building Co. plans to add an extra supervisor to the site so the work can be incorporated into this summer’s construction window, when students aren’t in the building.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.