District 204 school board OKs nearly $1 million renovation of Foods Lab at Neuqua Valley High School
The project is a renovation of Neuqua's Foods Lab, per Monday's meeting agenda. The district's architect, STR Partners, bid the project and received five bids from contractors, the agenda said. The district decided on the lowest responsible bidder: Construction, Inc., from Lombard.
The project is estimated to cost $944,000, per Monday's meeting agenda.
The Foods Lab at Neuqua is used for a Career Technical Education course that teaches culinary arts, baking and knife skills, career development and the experience of running a restaurant, the district's director of building operations John Robinson told The Beacon-News in an email on Wednesday.
The renovations will include building six teaching stations in the lab's two classrooms, along with new cooking equipment, sinks and disposals, lighting, ventilation and exhaust and other room renovations, officials said.
The Foods Lab renovation adds to the growing number of summer projects set to be completed over the summer to update the district's facilities.
In early February, the board approved $3 million in flooring replacements, about $2.1 million in paving work, just under $1.5 million in roofing and gutter repairs and about $600,000 to install four new playgrounds at various schools in the district, according to past reporting.
In March, the board OK'd another $15.5 million in capital projects, which include constructing secure entryways at 11 elementary schools, replacing lighting systems with LED fixtures at several schools to improve energy efficiency and installing remote access at 22 schools that would allow school personnel to check the status of the schools' HVAC systems remotely.
Later in March, the board also gave the green light to a $7.6 million renovation project for Waubonsie Valley High School's auditorium – a project that will include new seats, house lights, theater lights, sound systems, flooring and other renovations, district officials have previously said. It will also include aesthetics upgrades and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades that will bring the building up to code, officials have previously said.
The district is pursuing significant facilities upgrades as a result of the successful passage of a $420 million bond sale referendum by voters last November. The funds generated by the district's bond sales can only go toward capital projects, not day-to-day operating expenses, according to past reporting.
For the projects taking place over the summer and into next fall, the district intends to spend around $40 million across this fiscal year and the next, the district's chief school business official Matthew Shipley has previously said. The $420 million in bonds are set to be issued through 2029 to fund projects through 2032, according to past reporting, and bond payments are expected to continue for 12 to 15 years after all the projects are completed.
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