Downers Grove resident and 1969 O’Neill Middle School graduate Jerri Lau was among the community members who attended an open house last week to take a peek at the school’s newly completed renovations.
Lau came because “I attended here 60 years ago and wanted to see what it looks like today.”
This time, Lau brought along a 2026 incoming O’Neill student so that they could get a sense of what to expect in the fall.
The Litterst family also attended the open house in part to give Mabel Litterst, an incoming 6th grader, the opportunity to get a closer look at the school she will attend school in the fall.
It also was an opportunity for former O’Neill Middle School student Amelia Litterst, now a freshman at Downers Grove South, to see the outcome of the renovations that were underway while she attended the school.
To address overcrowding at the elementary school level, shifting 6th graders to the district’s two middle schools was one goal of the extensive renovation project.
The work will be completed in the fall of 2026, and 6th graders will start the year at either O’Neill or Herrick middle schools.
At O’Neill, the almost two-year-long renovation included improvements to the competition gym, fitness center, science labs, main office, cafeteria, library, common areas and bathrooms.
Keri Bernhard, an O’Neill 8th grade language arts teacher, said that the renovation also features new windows, a new HVAC system, enhanced lighting and new carpeting.
“Most of the classrooms got new ceiling tiles and lighting, projectors and a fresh coat of paint,” Bernhard said.
The school year started after Labor Day to give “an opportunity to do some last-minute things before everyone returned,” Bernhard said.
Another open house will be held at O’Neill Middle School on April 30. In addition, a guided tour of the renovations of Herrick Middle School will take place at 6:30 p.m. on April 6.
Construction at the two middle schools began over spring break 2024.
“It is really nice to see the fruits of everyone’s labor with all the updated spaces,” said Superintendent Kevin Russell.
“From what the building looked like when I taught here to what it looks like now – this is what our kids deserve and what our staff deserves,” Russell said of O’Neill.
“The work at the middle school level has been substantially completed since winter break. Now we are working on finalizing punch list items.”
“The costliest items related to the construction are things that you may not necessarily see, but will feel,” Russell said.
Electrical, plumbing and HVAC all “requires a lot of work,” he said.
But renovation work in District 58 has not been limited to the two middle schools.
The district also is nearing the end of large-scale refurbishments at each of the 13 elementary schools, which range in age from more than 50 to almost 100 years old.
Following the passage of a $179 million bond referendum in November 2022, renovation work began in 2024 and was divided into three phases.
Prior to the construction, “We were one of the only districts left who didn’t have a comprehensive air conditioning system in 11 of our 13 schools,” Russell said.
In the summer of 2024, work was done at four elementary schools: Henry Puffer, Highland, Hillcrest and Whittier.
In the summer of 2025, construction was completed at Fairmount, Indian Trail, Kingsley and Lester elementary schools.
This summer, work will begin at the final three elementary schools: Belle Aire, El Sierra and Pierce Downer, Russell said.
“Belle Aire and El Sierra were at the end because they were the only two schools that had comprehensive air conditioning,” Russell said. “We put an addition on Pierce Downer, so part of that school already has a new HVAC system.”
Work at the last three elementary schools is expected to be completed by September 2026.