LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School is planning $40 million in building projects over the next three years.
Officials say they know where the money is coming from for this first phase of improvements.
The second phase is estimated to be between $85 million and $100 million. No decisions have been made on how to pay for it.
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The first phase features an expanded music department at South Campus as well as a new cafeteria. The phase also includes the modernization of 64 classrooms for both campuses.
At Monday’s school board meeting, member Elvia Nava said she was interested in knowing which projects in the second phase are considered necessary and which are seen as nice-to-haves.
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Member Michael Thomas said he sees the second phase as “pie in the sky.” Not all the items on the second phase’s list, he said, were identified as projects that must happen.
In response, Superintendent Brian Waterman said projects such as the modernization and renovation of classrooms and the expansion of air conditioning are seen as necessary.
“We have a lot more classrooms than 64. That’s all in Phase 2,” he said. “I would argue that there are certainly some desires in (the second phase), but there are a lot of needs in there as well.”
The board has considered the possible sale of the school’s 70 acres in Willow Springs as a source of money for the second phase’s projects.
For industrial uses, the property has been appraised at more than $60 million. But Willow Springs officials vow they will stick to their zoning, which bans industrial uses.
A residential developer recently offered about $20 million.
A page on the school’s website is devoted to plans for the first and second phases.
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