D-205 Projects May Go $11M Over Budget

Elmhurst IL

22 September, 2021

7:57 AM

Description

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst School District 205 is expecting to go $11.4 million over budget in its plan to replace and renovate schools, largely because officials are now planning a much larger Field Elementary School. In 2018, local voters allowed the district to go $168 million into debt for the projects. Over the summer, school board members have been told the district was poised to go over budget. Officials generally agreed the district could cover the extra costs by dipping into its bank accounts, rather than borrowing more money. At Tuesday's school board meeting, Todd Schmidt, the district's building and grounds director, told the board about the $11.4 million number. Officials had long planned to replace Field Elementary, but now they want to expand the school — to four classrooms per grade, from three. That's an increase of 11,000 square feet. The Field project is now expected to be $7.3 million over budget, most of that because of the expansion. The additional space, Schmidt said, would give the school the capacity to handle likely growth in enrollment. "It's beneficial for us to do it now rather than wait five to seven years, which would cost us more and be disruptive," he said. Also, a major project at Fischer Elementary School is expected to go over budget by $3.5 million. There, the district plans more classrooms for increased program enrollment. Board President Kara Caforio said the plans would make for "beautiful schools." But she questioned whether the district could make cuts to the scope of the projects and still have beautiful schools. Schmidt said there was not much to "shave off." Board member Athena Arvanitis noted many of the costs have increased from the estimates before the 2018 referendum. She wondered whether the current estimates were too low. Schmidt said the expected escalation in costs is baked into the numbers. The board made no decisions on the projects at its meeting. In a memo earlier this year, the district said the $168 million in borrowing has had little impact on property taxpayers. The original promise was that the additional taxes on a $500,000 home would not increase by more than $150 a year. Because of lower interest rates, the increase in taxes amounts to $4 for such a home, according to the district.