Parents question mold cleanup costs vs. building new school

[Guest guest]

http://republican.chicagosuburbannews.com/display/inn_news/ST%20CHARLES/NEWS

01.TXT

Parents question mold cleanup costs vs. building new school

By Cirillo/Staff writer

The mold remediation at St. East High School is still cheaper than

building a new high school, but not by a lot, say some School District 303

parents.

Budget numbers released by District 303 Assistant Superintendent Dave Zager

show the cost of the work at East to have reached $14,091,930. That is about

$3 million more than the original cost estimates generated in August when

the School Board decided to clean and repair the school rather than demolish

it and start over.

The $14 million figure does not include costs for experts to study the

building, construction supervision or for rental and installation of mobile

classrooms. These extra costs would have been associated with the building

of a new high school, said district Director of Communications Tom

.

said the biggest cost that surpassed the original estimate is $1.5

million for the cleaning and remodeling of the Norris Cultural Arts Center,

which was not included in the original scope of work.

But school officials still say the mold remediation at East is still

significantly less than building a new facility. School officials said a new

high school, including a new Cultural Arts Center estimated at $6 million,

would have cost about $52 million; more than double the mold remediation.

However, some parents say the bottom line is misleading. Villwock, who

supported building a new high school, said the numbers would likely climb

higher than the current figure before the project is completed.

" For what they spent [when finished], they'll be right there at a brand new

building, " she said.

One of the numbers left out of the calculations is a potential state grant

the School District might have received if it had rebuilt the school and

applied for it in time. Villwock said the grant would have brought the total

of grant money from the state to $14 million. This would have allowed the

district to spend $38 million using the same funds for the cleanup.

While $38 million is still $14 million less than an estimated $52 million

for a new building, Villwock said the costs could not be compared equally.

" We're not getting a brand new building, we're getting an inferior building

with no improved technology and no guarantees, " she said. " We're getting the

same '75 Chevy with new parts and a little clean up. "

The mold remediation is being paid for with $5.9 million from the district's

education fund balance, $5.1 million from the 2001 Life Safety bond issue

and $12.8 million from the $67 million 1998 bond issue that built St.

North High School and Bell-Graham Elementary School.

Parent Bobbie Raehl said the use of the money from the 1998 bond referendum

was unethical. Raehl said the standard practice is to put that money toward

abating the taxes created by the bond. Instead, she said the district held

on to the money after the projects were completed in 2000.

" If the voters had said they wanted to repair the high school, at least

they'd be using the money for what we want to use it for, " Raehl said.