The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Various expenses, bills approved by U-46 board

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 voted 6-0, board member Veronica Noland was absent, to approve $8.6 million in expenditure proposals at its meeting on Monday, Feb. 5.
  The expenditure items are mostly operations and maintenance/health and life safety fund items, the largest being projects at district high schools: phase two of renovations for Streamwood High School’s pathway program ($4.2 million/Northwest Contractors, Inc.) and replacement of flooring, house lighting, sound system and seating at Larkin High School’s auditorium ($1.4 million/Omni Commercial Group).
  “Streamwood High School was identified as the second location for the Educational Pathways Program construction, and the scope of work was large enough that it needed to be performed as a phased project over two fiscal years,” the Streamwood proposal stated.
  “Larkin High School auditorium’s existing stage light dimming system and house lights are antiquated, not energy efficient, and in need of replacement,” the Larkin proposal stated. “The seating and flooring in the space are also antiquated and in need of replacement. Additionally, the sound system can no longer handle the number of microphones with the clarity required to support the Visual and Performing Arts Academy (VPAA) performances.”
  Additional operations and maintenance/health and life safety items include fire alarm replacement at three elementary schools ($1 million/iWire Technologies), fire alarm replacement at 500 Shales Parkway ($340,790/Austin Electric), intercom and clock replacement at Ronald D. O'Neal Elementary School ($331,720/American Electric Construction), replacement of five plant operations vehicles ($255,045/Sutton Ford) and water heater and softener replacement and installation at South Elgin High School ($229,250/Hartwig Mechanical).
  From the education fund were a bid costing $199,756 with Quality Power Solutions for uninterruptible power supply, a contract renewal costing $179,211 for the time clock and personal time off Workforce software, a $78,809 contract renewal for the procurement process Bonfire software and a contract to join the Northern Illinois Independent Purchasing Cooperative costing $1,600 for competitive bidding for food and supplies.
  Two contract renewals will be paid by the nation’s taxpayers through grants including $213,300 for dual language teachers to earn master’s degrees from Roosevelt University and $81,497 for BlueStreak Math, a math intervention program at Title I schools.
  Also approved by a 6-0 vote was $13.3 million in itemized bills.