An outside consultant has identified more than $25 million in life safety improvement projects across seven buildings in Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201.

ARCON, a Lombard-based architecture firm, was hired by Minooka 201 officials to conduct a top-down review of the K-8 feeder district’s buildings for a new 10-year plan. The Illinois School Building Code requires a licensed architect to review the health and safety of all buildings.

“It’s a very lengthy process,” Mary Robinson, Minooka 201’s director of finance and operations, said at a recent board of education meeting. “Every one of their findings has been documented — what they found, the violation and the item that needs to be completed — along with a financial estimate.”

According to ARCON’s findings, Minooka Junior High School has the highest tab for life safety projects across the next decade, with an estimated $5.75 million worth of tasks identified. Walnut Trails Elementary School is close behind, with total tasks of more than $5.28 million. Jones Elementary School had the lowest amount, at $1.17 million.

At the recent board meeting, held May 18, Robinson said ARCON’s list of identified life safety projects totals $25.77 million, which is a figure that includes contingency and architect and engineering fees.

Robinson said most of the identified life safety projects will be tackled through 2031, and plans call for addressing them based on category to ensure efficiency. The district’s timeline, for instance, entails districtwide water heater replacements in 2028 and repairing wall and building cracks in 2029.

The board approved the 10-year life safety plan at the meeting, setting in motion the timeline that kicks off with work this summer at the junior high school.

As is the case with all public school districts across Illinois, Minooka 201 has a dedicated life safety fund that is fortified annually through tax levy dollars. Robinson said Fund 90, as it is more technically known, currently has a balance of about $3.6 million that can be drawn upon to fund the work.

“We’ll spend (Fund 90) down,” Robinson said. “That’s why we’ve been levying. We’ve been trying to build it up. … Each year, we’ll try to levy around $800,000. That will build into the financial plan. Whatever we don’t have, we’ll issue in bonds.”

During the recent board discussion of ARCON’s life safety report, questions about the tax impact popped up.

“The tax rate, if anything, will go down as that debt rolls off,” Robinson said, in response. ”We won’t see an increase in our tax rate because of life safety projects.”

Hiring a construction manager is the next step in the process of ensuring Minooka 201 meets all requirements for the life safety projects work. To that end, the district will begin putting out a request for qualifications bid document.

“We receive all of the qualifications, we will conduct the interviews, we’ll get input from references and we will compare their ability to support our projects and prioritize us as well,” Superintendent Rachel Kinder said of the overall process.

Minooka 201 finalizes strategic plan

The Minooka 201 board of education also approved the strategic plan document at its recent meeting, culminating a months-long process that included feedback from a cross-section of staff members, parents, students, and other community members.

“It’s truly intended to create a shared direction that is going to have a shared vision that directs and aligns the decisions that we make, how we use our resources, how we engage with our stakeholders,” Kinder said.

The plan includes five specific goals focused around such concepts as student growth and achievement, fostering a safe and engaging learning environment, and fiscal responsibility and transparency.

Board President Emily Conquest said the plan will serve as an important blueprint for the elected body in the road ahead.

“The strategic plan really drives what we as a board do, and it dictates the decisions we make,” Conquest said.