This month marks one year since Coal City Intermediate School was closed due to structural issues with the roof trusses. I am pleased to report that repairs are underway, and we remain confident that our fourth- and fifth-grade classes will return to the school for the 2026–27 school year.

As you may recall, the school building closed Oct. 30, 2024, when an inspection revealed damage in two of the three trusses over the north gymnasium. This inspection was prompted by a noticeable horizontal crack across the north wall. In consultation with architects, structural engineers and the Grundy/Kendall Regional Office of Education, it was determined to be in the best interest of all to abandon the building until a decision could be made on how to best address the issue. In the interim, the school’s fourth- and fifth-grade classes moved to the elementary school.

Based on further discussions with architects and engineers, and with input from the school community, the Coal City Community School District 1 Board authorized repairs, including the replacement of the roof and renovations of the gymnasium and adjacent spaces.

If you have passed by the building recently, you likely noticed that the roof and a portion of the north wall have been removed. Ahead of this, necessary asbestos abatement was completed.

During the summer months, the initial stages of a new fire alarm system were installed. The wood floor, bleachers and stage were removed. A small portion of the floor and bleachers was kept for historical purposes and is expected to be used in future projects.

It’s interesting to note that in the process of taking down the bleachers, work crews uncovered programs from past events in the space, including those from basketball tournaments, music concerts and a graduation ceremony from the 1960s. As many in the community might recall, the school building was constructed in 1916 as the high school, and in the 1970s it became the middle school. So, in its 109 years, the building has served thousands of students, and up until its closure last fall, it was our most widely used building by community groups.

Renovations within the 8,300-square-foot space will result in a multi-use area for a variety of programming. The school’s band/music room will be located in what was the stage area, and its former space on the second floor will be abandoned. The adjacent restrooms and locker rooms will remain.

In preparation for the placement of a new roof – flat with a slight pitch for drainage – the chimney located on the north side of the building was taken down brick by brick, a process that took a little more than a week.

At this time, our contractor, Performance Services, is reporting that the work is ahead of schedule, and they expect a delivery of steel for the roof in the early weeks of November, which means they will hopefully have the building under roof before winter fully sets in.

The repair and renovation costs have been approved at $4.9 million and will be covered by the proceeds of a bond issuance approved by the school board in 2023. The district received $130,000 from an insurance claim, and those dollars covered the immediate stabilization of the damaged structure. As a district, we remain confident the damage is the result of a storm system that came through the community in July 2024.

The school district is grateful for the support and understanding of the community during the past year and in the months ahead. Performance Services has indicated repairs and renovations will be substantially complete by July 2026, providing the district time to reoccupy the space in time to welcome students and staff back for the first day of school in August.

As we look forward to the reopening of our district’s oldest academic center, we continue to investigate the long-term viability of not only the intermediate school, but the elementary school as well, and the future of what could be a new second- to-fifth-grade attendance center.