The District 87 school board on Wednesday approved a 10-year life safety plan for Bloomington High School. The plan lists about $4.4 million in needed repairs.
Michael Cornale, the district's chief financial and facilities officer, said several construction projects around the BHS campus should wrap up by Thanksgiving.
The biggest single project is a nearly $2 million overhaul of the South Gym locker rooms. The list also includes replacing aging mechanical systems, fixing structural damage near the pool and reworking the North Gym roof, a project estimated at more than $1 million.
Cornale said putting the work in the life safety report lets the district pay for it with life safety funds rather than operations and maintenance or capital funds. He called the roof work “big ticket” but not urgent.
Facilities update
Cornale said the district hopes to have students passing through the BHS tunnel by the end of this week. Lighting is in place there, and the bathrooms have reopened.
A reworked concession stand is targeted for completion around Thanksgiving, in time for basketball season and the November turkey tournament.
In the South Gym, which was damaged by water, the locker room flooring is in and block walls went up this week.
“Electricians, plumbers, HVAC folks, everybody is stacked on that job,” Cornale said. “We’re pushing hard on it.”
Cornale said the upstairs wrestling area and athletic training office should be turned over in early November so wrestlers can start practicing, and locker room work is expected to continue until about mid-December.
On Empire Street, Cornale said the road will close from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday so crews can remove the road base that was damaged when it got wet. Cornale said construction is expected to finish around Thanksgiving.
The board also approved applying for a $50,000 state School Maintenance Project Grant that requires a district match. The money would go toward replacing aging heating and cooling units at Washington Elementary.
Fresh Start Academy
Also Wednesday, the board approved an agreement with McLean County Unit District 5 to share transportation for special education students placed at Fresh Start Academy in Havana, about 75 miles from Bloomington.
Cornale said after the meeting that some District 87 students who need additional services are placed at the Havana school that can provide “the level of service necessary” that the district cannot provide.
“It’s what the student needs ultimately to be successful,” he said.
District 87 has provided the transportation in past years, Cornale said. What made this year different is that Unit 5 also has an eligible student, so the two districts can share a bus.
“Instead of us sending a bus and Unit 5 sending a bus, we’re just able to combine together and send one bus with the necessary students,” he said.
Under the agreement, District 87 is the lead district. It hires and supervises the driver, keeps the bus insured and bills Unit 5 each month for its share, which is based on how many students each district sends.
Other business
- The board recognized the BHS Marching Raiders, the 2026 Class 3A state champions. The 130-member band has finished in the top 10 three years in a row.
- Assistant Superintendent Nicole Rummel reported that freshmen with an "F" in the first weeks of school dropped from 171 last year to 87, and that office discipline referrals fell nearly by half. District-wide attendance held steady at about 94%.
- The district will hold a community open house at the Willie and Gloria Brown Education Center, home to the Bloomington Career Academy and Sarah Raymond, from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 11.
