Lockport freshmen may have classes at Lincoln-Way North while ceilings repaired at Central Campus

Lockport freshmen may attend classes at the vacated Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort as Lockport Township High School District 205 officials said work on Central Campus’ ceilings will take months to complete.

The school board voted Tuesday to have Superintendent Robert McBride and district administrators negotiate agreements to secure Lincoln-Way North as a temporary location for Lockport freshmen.

Lincoln-Way North, which opened in 2008, has not been used as a high school since 2016, but the building has been maintained, McBride said. With the board’s approval, it is likely in-person classes at Lincoln-Way North could resume Nov. 15 and continue through the end of the school year, he said.

“The obvious benefit is it has every amenity. It’s built for a high school,” McBride said. “The name of the game is getting students back in the classroom.”

The district is preparing a school bus plan, McBride said. Currently, each bus stop has students who travel to Central Campus and East Campus, where the district’s sophomore through seniors attend, so it wouldn’t be possible to create routes from a specific bus stop straight to Lincoln-Way North, he said.

The morning transportation plan would have all buses arrive at East Campus and then 22 buses will take freshmen nearly 18 miles to Lincoln-Way North, McBride said. After school, the plan would reverse with 22 buses bringing the freshmen to East Campus, and then all district students taking their designated bus route home.

Freshmen will likely have a shorter school day to account for travel, McBride said.

Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 and Lockport District 205 will need to enter into an intergovernmental agreement and rental agreement, McBride said.

Stefanie Croix, director of business services, said she’s had conversations with Lincoln-Way officials and worked with attorneys to begin drafting documents with rent pricing, maintenance plans and occupancy plans, which would address which section of the building Lockport students and staff can use for lessons.

“All of those pieces have to be worked into the intergovernmental agreement,” Croix said. “It sounds like it’s a big thing, but the biggest piece is going to students and getting them back up and running. These pieces are almost aftermath.”

Lincoln-Way spokeswoman Jennifer Vujosevic confirmed in an email Wednesday the districts have discussed the use of Lincoln-Way North. The District 210 Board will hold an emergency meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln-Way Central, 1801 E. Lincoln Highway, New Lenox.

It will also take a few days to secure a food service plan, establish safety protocols and move teachers from Central Campus, the district’s freshmen center, to Lincoln-Way North, McBride said.

Lincoln-Way North is larger than Central Campus, with two long wings with classrooms, and it is likely Lockport students will only require one wing, he said.

Lockport students and staff will have access to the gym, offices, nurses area and cafeteria, McBride said, while the field house and weight and cardio rooms will be off limits because those spaces are used by the Frankfort Park District.

Croix said cooking equipment from the kitchen at Lincoln-Way North has been removed, so it is likely the students won’t have a full meal service since meals can’t be prepared on site. The district will offer food to students, especially for students on a free or reduced meal program, but details are still being worked out.

A plaster ceiling in a third-floor classroom at Lockport’s Central Campus collapsed Nov. 1 and was discovered by a math teacher the following morning. The building was evacuated, McBride said, and no students were in the classroom when the ceiling collapsed.

The collapse was caused by plaster loosening from the wood frame amid weather changes and moisture, McBride said. The building was built in 1909, though the room was part of an addition built in 1928, and the primary construction method then involved plaster nailed into wood framing, McBride said.

McBride presented the board with an analysis of the ceilings at Central Campus completed by WJE, a firm of engineers, architects and materials scientists specializing in the investigation, testing and design of building repairs.

Since the ceiling collapse, WJE officials have cut into ceilings in Central Campus and uncovered a variety of ceiling structures, McBride said. The first layer of ceiling is decorative, McBride said, to hold the lighting and venting.

McBride said they found some sections of the building have a drywall ceiling and some sections of the building have a plaster ceiling above the drywall.

The preliminary WJE inspection determined a majority of the ceilings present a low risk for damage, but about three classrooms and the hallway near room 310 present a high risk for damage, McBride said. Additionally, about four classrooms and a hallway next to the high risk area present a medium risk for ceiling damage, he said.

The third floor has another section of classrooms and hallway area that have a medium risk for ceiling damage, McBride said.

Repair work on the ceilings will likely take about three to four months, McBride said, including time for the board would to approve construction bids.

“This is going to take longer than we thought,” McBride said. “We don’t know definitely today how long this is going to take.”

Freshmen have been using e-Learning since Friday, McBride said. When considering how to best educate students while ceilings are inspected and repaired, district officials considered continuing online learning and moving freshmen to East Campus, he said.

Online learning presents challenges with technology fatigue and socialization and East Campus presents challenges with making room for another 1,000 students, McBride said. The best option for students to have in-person learning would be a Lincoln-Way North, he said.

Board member Veronica Shaw, who is an associate principal at Lincoln-Way East, said she walked through Lincoln-Way North Tuesday and was surprised by how well it was maintained.

“I think it will be a great space for our kids as an alternative location,” Shaw said. “It’s a good option.”