Property damage from the March 10 tornado and severe storms is currently estimated at $28.7 million for Kankakee School District 111.

That cost may yet increase as insurance adjusters continue assessing damage.

Roof damage to all 12 district buildings, 10 of which have to be replaced, accounts for about $21 million of the total.

Lyle Neal, assistant superintendent of business services, expects the total will increase by a couple million by the time assessments are done.

“I don’t anticipate the final amount for several months yet, but we will be able to get some things started on the repair side,” he said.

Neal provided a storm damage update during Monday’s Kankakee school board meeting.

“The insurance will cover a good chunk of that [damage], if not most of it,” he said.

However, roofs that are older than 20 years are covered at actual cash value, not replacement value.

So, the buildings with older roofs may only be partially covered.

The Kankakee High School roof, which was one of the most damaged areas, is relatively new, he noted.

The community center roof is also new, as the building is only a couple of years old.

Neal said he does not yet know if disaster relief funds will be available to the district.

That question will be explored after determining the extent of insurance coverage.

A team of adjusters has been going through the buildings “with a fine-tooth comb” starting last week, he said.

The district should start receiving some payout by Memorial Day for the initial cleanup and mitigations from the storm.

Repair priorities

Neal said repairs from the storm damage should take two or three years to complete.

“Putting one roof on is a challenge some years, and we have to put on 10,” he said.

The goal will be to complete as much as possible in the first year.

Priority buildings are Kankakee High School, the Aroma Park building, Kennedy Middle School, and Kankakee Junior High School.

The district is renting its former Aroma Park school to Garden of Prayer. Part of the building’s roof came off in the tornado.

The Aroma Park site has one of the older roofs, so some of the replacement cost may not be covered.

Once the insurance process is complete, a more detailed timeline for repairs can be established, he said.

“We are actually pretty well insured,” Neal said. “This is why we’re paying that almost $2 million a year in premiums, so we can have something like this happen, and we are covered.”

Building damage

Several million dollars worth of rooftop mechanical and HVAC equipment will likely have to be replaced around the district.

The Kankakee High School auditorium also took damage from roof leaks caused by the hail storm.

The auditorium’s sound and lighting systems, acoustic tiles, carpet, equipment, and some seats experienced water damage.

Also inside the high school, the main gym floor must be replaced due to wood warping and water damage that is beyond repair.

The board approved demolition of the gym floor to prevent further water damage to the subfloor during a March 28 special meeting.

The demolition took place starting March 26, with prior administrative approval given to prevent further damage to the facility, board documents show.

Stalker Sports Floors was hired for the demolition and removal of the wood floor at a cost of $36,450.

The demolition is anticipated to reduce the cost of final floor replacement.

Vehicle damage

Of the 45 vehicles in the district’s special use fleet, which includes maintenance, driver education, security, and special programs vehicles, 28 were substantially damaged or destroyed in the storm.

That includes the district’s three driver education cars being totaled.

School buses are still being assessed for damage, but initial repairs have allowed daily routes to continue.

Neal said the district has more vehicles than it needs in its special use fleet, and now is a good time to explore downsizing due to the recent storm damage.

The board on Monday approved an agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management for a period of five to six years.

The company will establish a process of selling and replacing vehicles with open-ended lease vehicles every five years.

During the first year or two, the totaled vehicles will be replaced, along with vehicles that are too old and costly to maintain.

The upfront costs for the first round of vehicles will be about $5,124.

The total lease cost for the first year for these vehicles will be $77,542.

The first vehicles to be replaced will be the driver education and security vehicles.

New driver education cars are expected in about a week and a half.

“Once we get the vehicles, they’ll have to work out a schedule to help kids make up their [driving] hours and get back on track,” Neal said.