The Chicago Ridge School District board recently discussed current building renovation and construction projects.

Although the board would have preferred a more open discussion in their study sessions, due to the timeframe for construction projects, they needed to begin their normal Nov. 8 Board of Education meeting. The base bids primarily dealt with various aspects of Ridge Central, such as incorporating a middle courtyard into the building to add some classrooms and work spaces, redoing the front office space to improve workflow and safety for the building, adding a classroom into the library and converting the teacher's lounge to a classroom. 

"So the question is: Is that a good use of our funds in terms of spending that kind of money for larger [space]. And I just want to add before we have our discussion, there was a definite need at the other two schools, new classrooms, itinerant spaces. This was more of a let's see what we could do for Finley, and I'd like to know if it's worth it," Chicago Ridge Schools Business Manager Kathy Piccolini said at the meeting. 

Another component of base bid two is the expansion of four classrooms at the Finley campus, as well as the future addition of two more classrooms. They had three proposals for the two base bids, one of which was rejected. They also included options in the base bids, such as restroom renovations, which they might accept or reject based on the numbers.

The total cost of the project is $7.5 million. Earlier this year, the district estimated the renovation would cost $6.4 million. However, growing labor costs, supply chain challenges and schedule constraints have all contributed to price increases. The district can allocate $4.2 million for the project from ESSAR III funds. They debated whether to complete all components of the project immediately, and decided to do so as long as they can budget the money safely, as growing construction expenses would make it more expensive if they waited.