:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/TLE5XVIDABGY5NSYEOUPSYBM3Y.jpg)
An analysis underway across Minooka School District 201’s facility footprint is expected to help assemble a list of short- and long-term capital projects in the years and decades ahead.
As a pivotal first step in the process, the board on March 17 awarded a $93,750 contract to ARCON Associates Inc., a Lombard-based architecture firm, to undertake what is being described as a districtwide facility assessment and asset management plan.
The agreement calls on ARCON to conduct extensive interior and exterior reviews of the district’s seven school buildings and two maintenance facilities. In total, ARCON will be reviewing a total of 625,000 square feet of District 201’s existing physical space across the community.
At the recent meeting, the board also named ARCON the district’s official architect of record. The firm edged out 15 competitors after a public request for qualifications process.
The District 201 board then authorized ARCON to conduct the assessment and plan. Under terms of the timeline, ARCON representatives will conduct site visits and assessments through July. An analysis and strategic planning will follow from August through October.
Superintendent Rachel Kinder outlined the rationale behind the big-picture review getting underway at the recent board meeting.
“This assessment will provide critical insights into the condition of our facilities, helping us to strategically plan for maintenance, renovations and the potential of future projects,” Kinder said.
Board member Adam Shainberg was part of a panel that interviewed ARCON representatives as a final recommendation was being assembled for an architect of record.
“During the interviews, I was extremely impressed, and I wanted to mention that,” Shainberg said. “Something that stuck out to me was the representatives expressed that they don’t bid for every job and for every opening. They’re not looking for chasing business – they’re booking for successful partnerships. It just felt like a really good fit.”
V.P. Trinh, a principal with ARCON, was on hand at the board meeting to discuss the company’s philosophy and plans for working with District 201 officials.
“The education market is our bread and butter, or our meat and potatoes. It is what we do,” Trinh said. “Ninety-five percent of our work is the educational market.”
Board President Emily Conquest said she was looking forward to seeing ARCON’s insights into the status of the district’s buildings.
“I know many of our buildings are getting to the age where they are needing more and more,” Conquest said. “It will be great to have fresh eyes on them.”
In other business, the board:
- approved the hiring of Theresa Underhill as principal of Aux Sable Elementary School. Underhill had been serving in the leadership role in recent months on an interim basis.
- discussed a potential review of policies and procedures at District 201’s library media centers. The review comes on the heels of a parent’s recent report of a child checking out a book at one of the schools that was not deemed age-appropriate.
- approved the rollout of a survey platform known as Panorama that is intended to help gauge students, families, teachers and other faculty members’ perceptions of climate, culture, well-being and social-emotional culture within the district. The agreement includes a $5,945 fee to Panorama as the platform is piloted for the duration of the current school year. In the upcoming 2025-26 school year, District 201 officials plan to spend $22,835 for a full year’s worth of the service.