Nearly $1M Roof Repair Draws School Board Ire

When the Elmbrook School Board and a committee scrutinized what should be included in a $62 million referendum to improve the two high schools, no one apparently told members that $1 million in roof repairs was being left out of the plan.

So when a consultant and the administration proposed spending $994,750 in what was called "urgent" roof repair and tuck pointing, some school board members were not too happy.

"That bothers me," School Board President Tom Gehl said during Tuesday's meeting. 

He said there were other "bells and whistles" that could have been left off the referendum in lieu of the roof work. 

Gehl said in terms of building trust with the board and community "that's not helpful."

Board member Glen Allgaier, who was intimately involved in the smallest details of the renovation work, said, "This is just water over the dam."

But he added, "Certainly it was a need that was known and could have been addressed."

Allgaier and Gehl agreed, however, that the work was needed and backed a plan to fund the work with district reserves. Tuesday's agenda item was for discussion; the board is slated to vote on the roof work at its June 14 meeting.

School Board member Kathryn Wilson asked if there are other big-ticket items in the wings for the high schools, such as parking lots or drainage pipes.

Keith Brightman, Elmbrook's assistant superintendent for finance, said there are other maintenance projects. He said the $62 million referendum renovated and expanded Brookfield East and Central high schools.

"But it's not new buildings and there will be other needs" in the next five to 10 years, he added.

By a margin of 52 percent, district voters in 2008 approved a $62.2 million referendum to renovate and expand the two high schools. The approval came after voters in 2007 rejected a $108.8 million plan to upgrade the high schools.

Brightman said the district did "emergency repairs" on the high school roofs this winter after there was leaking and "moisture entry."

Roughly 10 percent of the two high schools' roofs would be repaired — about 18,000 square feet of roof at East High and about 24,800 square feet at Central.

The report by SRI Consultants Inc. is posted here.

The district reserves as of last June totaled about $27.5 million, or 27 percent of the general operating fund. That is substantially higher than the minimum 15 percent the district's policy targets.

After spending the $994,750 for the high school roof projects, about $2.9 million for a Pilgrim Park Middle School heating, air and ventilation system and other designated funds, the fund balance on June 30, 2011 should be about $23 million, or 23 percent of operating funds, Brightman said.