District 95 officials released a new facilities plan that includes an increase to the summer construction budget for the high school.

The five-year plan will increase its typical projected budget of approximately $2.5 million to $5.5 million. A larger fund balance and a more aggressive proposal will allow for the District to raise the amount of summer construction completed.

Major improvements included in the proposed plan include replacing parts of Mel Eide stadium and other athletic facilities, repairing sections of deteriorating roof over the cafeteria and the D and E wings, parking lot and pavement upgrades, and improving windows throughout the District.

“There are other smaller projects in all of our District buildings but [these projects] are larger in scope and price, thus requiring the most time to accomplish,” Erstad said.

The plan will target specific areas in need of improvement and will focus on aspects of these areas each summer that is included in the plan, in order to finish as much construction as possible and lower the spending budget after each respective year.

This summer, specific tasks consist of replacing the stadium turf and creating a retention pond between the tennis courts and Mel Eide stadium to comply with Lake County Storm Water Management regulations. Also included in the plan is reconstructing road accesses, moving the main office location, maintaining and repairing roofs, and increasing lighting efficiency at May Whitney Elementary School.

Although individual projects will be done on both the tennis courts and Mel Eide stadium, Erstad said that combining the major projects will save money within the budget.

Long-term plans include replacing and adding additional bleachers to the football stadium to fit more students, adding more tennis courts, improving water management, upgrading the stadium press box, replacing the fire alarms at May Whitney.

The new plan includes large changes to multiple schools throughout the District, it remains a working file that can change to fit the District’s needs. However, the plan does not include new air conditioning, new entrances to May Whitney or Sarah Adams Elementary School, or classroom reconstruction.

Although the plan does not include several important projects, the budget does include most of the large projects that are in need of the most resources and time, according to Erstad.

“The biggest challenge is the short amount of time that we have to get the projects done. Although we are planning and designing the projects now, actual work can only be done during the summer, which is only 8-10 weeks long,” Erstad said. “Each project is exciting as they represent the District’s efforts to improve its facilities and creating better learning.”

Sidebar: picture of current state of an area of improvement with the projected cost and what would be done