By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Delavan-Darien School Board on Monday approved borrowing nearly $3 million to complete energy efficiency building projects at Phoenix Middle School, Turtle Creek Elementary School, the School Administration Center and Darien Elementary School. Most of the projects will be completed this summer.
The board approved a study by McKinstry Consulting in November to develop a list of energy-efficiency and safety projects along with cost estimates and projected savings for each project. The study established three tiers of projects McKinstry recommends for the district.
The board approved beginning the process toward borrowing the funds necessary for Tier 1 projects only on Feb. 8. The board then approved borrowing $5.9 million for Tier 1 projects at the high school only on March 14 while deciding to further evaluate the rest of the Tier 1 projects before approving any borrowing for them.
On Monday, the board heard a report from representatives of McKinstry and Director of Facilities and Grounds Gary Aull about the need for the projects. Proposed projects include new roofs, windows and exterior doors, exterior lighting and other improvements to the building “envelopes.”
Outgoing board member Jim Hansen questioned how smart an investment it is to spend millions of dollars upgrading two older buildings – Darien and Wileman elementary schools, that are nearing the end of their useful lives. He asked how much the difference would be between doing that and just building a new building to replace them both.
Business Administrator Mark Powell said the board has to weigh a comparison like that against what the community would support. A new building would require a referendum.
Board member John Andreoni said he visited all three elementary schools in the past month and all three had buckets in the hallways to catch rainwater that was leaking in. He said that does not present a good image for a district trying to maintain enrollment.
Chad Kort said in the long term having a central campus makes sense if the district remains committed to the center-schools model. He also said it would not be good to approve borrowing a lot of money just ahead of possibly having to ask for another referendum for operational costs in the future.
President Jeff Scherer summed up what he believed the consensus was on the board – the projects at the newer buildings (Phoenix Middle School, the administration center and Turtle Creek) had support as did the roof project at Darien. The board approved borrowing for those projects in addition to the $5.9 million approved in March. The roof at Wileman was not scheduled to be replaced until 2017, so the board decided to wait on that for now.
