Unit 40 Board Submits South Side Health/Life Safety Work to State

Health and life safety work at South Side School will be submitted to the State for approval after action Monday night by the Effingham Unit 40 Board of Education.

Superintendent Mark Doan said the work will include roof replacement and ceiling, asbestos abatement and lighting replacement. 

The South Side project follows some $42,000 previously approved work at East Side, along with $50,000 in projects at West Side, and previously approved work at the Early Learning Center.

The granddaddy of the projects, though, is the renovation of Effingham Junior High School. Doan said the estimate of the cost of the junior high work is $13,382,000. That project will include plumbing, mechanical, fire alarm, heating, air-conditioning, flooring, and ceiling replacement. He explained that all of those projects are located within the building. Any exterior improvements "would be on the District's dime" as Doan put it. 

The project will include a new west entrance to provide for handicapped accessibility, and to create a vestibule that would provide better security.

The total cost for all of the projects at all of the buildings, understanding the cost of the South Side project is not yet finalized, is $15,329,087. Doan said a one-cent increase in the health/life safety levy should fund all of the work.

Those working on projections concerning the junior high project say the work can be completed over two summers, although Doan said to plan for three years and be surprised if it's completed more quickly. He also said there is a hope some of the asbestos abatement work at the junior high could be done as soon as this Christmas break.