Community High School District 128

The online edition of the Spring 2012 Paw Prints is now available. (Please note: the online edition does not include all of the features of the printed edition.)

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If you missed the Winter 2011-12 version of this publication, click here to view it.

May 7 Update 

LHS and VHHS Swimming Pool Compliance Repairs Begin

Construction contracts have been awarded, all necessary component parts have been ordered, and pre-construction demolition and electrical work have begun to bring the LHS and VHHS swimming pools into compliance. 

LHS and VHHS pre-construction electrical upgrades, required as part of compliance, have already commenced.  LHS pool drainage began on Saturday, May 5 at 9:00 a.m., and pre-construction demolition work to execute the required repairs will begin on Monday, May 7. VHHS Pool drainage will begin on Wednesday, May 9 at 8:00 p.m., and pre-construction demolition work to execute the required repairs will begin on Friday, May 11. The LHS sump assembly and drain cover unit has been manufactured and will be delivered this week for installation following required pre-demolition work.  Barring unforeseen complications, LHS repairs are expected to take 5 – 7 days with IDPH inspection and approval to follow within 3 days. The VHHS circulation pump assembly and drain cover unit has been manufactured and will be delivered this week for installation following required pre-demolition work.  Barring unforeseen complications, VHHS repairs are expected to take 5 – 7 days with IDPH inspection and approval to follow within 3 days.

LHS Athletic Director Briant Kelly and VHHS Athletic Director Brian McDonald will continue to coordinate pool usage and shut down schedules with D128 coaches and CATS Aquatics officials.

Additional updates will be provided on the D128 web site as warranted.

April 10 Update 

District 128 Receives Approval on LHS Pool Compliance Plan 

At the April 9 Community High School District 128 Board of Education Program and Personnel Committee meeting, District 128 Superintendent Dr. Prentiss Lea announced that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has formally approved the Libertyville High School (LHS) Swimming Pool Compliance Plan.

To move the LHS compliance plan forward as required, the LHS bid specifications will be posted in the local newspaper no later than Thursday, April 12, for 10 calendar days, which will end on Saturday, April 21. Bids will be opened on Monday, April 23, and dependent upon the results of bidding contractor vetting, the Board of Education will award the LHS construction contract at its regular meeting that evening. Once the contract is awarded, construction is expected to begin as soon as required compliance work is completed on the Vernon Hills High School pool, and should take 30 days or less to complete. Inspection and approval of the construction work and final occupancy permitting will follow completion of construction. 

District 128 Finance Assistant Jess Porres, Director of Building and Grounds Joe Tomaselli, LHS Athletic Director Briant Kelly, VHHS Athletic Director Brian McDonald, and LHS Assistant Athletic Director John Fischl, will work with the District 128 physical education staff, swim staff and community user groups to facilitate and coordinate district pool use during the construction process. 

Superintendent Lea again expressed sincere thanks to the Illinois Department of Public Health and Lead Pool Engineer, Craig Steinheimer, and Head Engineer, Justin DeWitt, for their work with the district to gain swimming pool compliance.  “We continue to be appreciative of the efforts of the IDPH team in communicating with us, reviewing our compliance plans, and providing timely feedback essential in meeting IDPH approval requirements,” Lea said.

April 5 Update

Board of Education Awards Construction Contract for VHHS Pool Compliance

At a special meeting on Thursday, April 5, the Community High School District 128 Board of Education voted 4 – 0 to award the construction contract for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) required Vernon Hills High School (VHHS) swimming pool compliance plan repairs to Continental Construction Company of Evanston, IL.  Continental submitted a total bid of $41,600 for the required repairs.  The other company bidding for the repair work submitted a $66,000 bid. 

Continental will begin work on the VHHS swimming pool as soon as all required components and equipment are received from suppliers.  District 128 officials estimate that the repairs should take approximately 10 days to complete.  District 128 Superintendent Dr. Prentiss Lea stated that the Board and administration are “ecstatic to take the next forward step toward IDPH swimming pool compliance at Vernon Hills High School.”  In addition, Board President Pat Groody noted that the Board “was pleased with the amount of the winning bid.”  And, Dr. Lea once again praised and thanked the IDPH engineering staff for its diligent work with the District 128 engineering team to gain plan approval and move toward compliance.

District 128 Finance Assistant Jess Porres, Director of Building and Grounds Joe Tomaselli, LHS Athletic Director Briant Kelly, and VHHS Athletic Director Brian McDonald will work with the District 128 swim staff and community to facilitate and coordinate pool use during the construction process. 

March 20 Update

DISTRICT 128 RECEIVES APPROVAL ON VHHS POOL COMPLIANCE PLAN AND TENTATIVE APPROVAL FOR LHS PLAN 

At the March 19 meeting of the Community High School District 128 Board of Education, District 128 Superintendent Prentiss Lea announced that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has formally approved the District’s Vernon Hills High School Swimming Pool Compliance Plan. In addition, IDPH has tentatively notified District 128 that the preliminary Libertyville High School Swimming Pool Compliance Plan should meet the requirements for issuance of the required construction permit. 

To move the VHHS Compliance Plan forward as required, the VHHS bid specifications will be posted in the local newspaper no later than Wednesday, March 21, for 10 calendar days, which will end on Friday, March 30.  Bids will be opened the following day on Monday, April 2.  Following bidding contractor vetting on Tuesday, April 3 and Wednesday, April 4, the Board of Education will hold a Special Board Meeting on Thursday, April 5, to award the VHHS construction contract. Once the contract is awarded, construction is expected to begin as soon as possible, and should take 10 days or less to complete. Inspection and approval of the construction work and final occupancy permitting will follow completion of construction.

Regarding the LHS Compliance Plan, all required formal documents will be sent to IDPH this week for final review, and hopefully will receive formal approval shortly thereafter.  As with the VHHS Compliance Plan, once the district receives formal approval of the LHS Compliance Plan, the bid process, awarding of the contract, construction work, inspection and occupancy permitting will follow.

District 128 Finance Assistant Jess Porres, Director of Building and Grounds Joe Tomaselli, LHS Athletic Director Briant Kelly, VHHS Athletic Director Brian McDonald, and LHS Assistant Athletic Director John Fischl, will work with the D128 swim staff and community to facilitate and coordinate pool use during the construction process. 

Superintendent Lea noted special appreciation and thanks to the Illinois Department of Public Health and Lead Pool Engineer, Craig Steinheimer, and Head Engineer, Justin DeWitt, for their continued assistance in working with us toward swimming pool compliance.  “The IDPH team has gone above and beyond in reviewing compliance submissions, in communicating and providing timely and essential feedback for revisions, and in demonstrating an excellent partnership in working toward compliance.  We are very grateful for their efforts on our behalf,” said Lea.

March 2 Update

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has tentatively notified District 128 that the Vernon Hills High School swimming pool compliance plan should meet the requirements for issuance of the required construction permit. The District has sent all necessary relevant letters, documents and drawings with required engineering stamps to IDPH for final review, approval and issuance of the construction permit.

Once the official construction permit is received, D128 will bid the work with required specifications and timelines, wait the required 10 days for bid submissions, evaluate the bids, and then award the bid for construction. It is anticipated that the required compliance work for the VHHS pool will take approximately 10 days to complete after the bid is awarded, with required IDPH final inspection and occupancy permit to follow.

The D128 engineering team has been working in parallel on the much more complex compliance plan for the Libertyville High School pool. We are working toward tentative and final construction permit approval for the LHS compliance plan by mid-April (or sooner) with bids specs, bidding, bid award and construction to follow. As a result of the required detail of the LHS pool compliance work, it is anticipated that the required work for the LHS pool will take approximately 4 weeks to complete after the bid is awarded, with required IDPH final inspection and occupancy permit to follow.

IDPH pool engineers continue to work closely with the District 128 engineering team to provide timely and meaningful feedback through a variety of means on compliance plan components, which continues to be infinitely helpful in moving toward compliance plan approval. We sincerely thank and commend the IDPH pool engineers for their diligent work with us to gain compliance for the LHS and VHHS pools!

Oct. 21 Update

D128 has received, reviewed and signed stipulated settlement agreements from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) for the Libertyville (LHS) and Vernon Hills High School (VHHS) swimming pools.  As such, the LHS and VHHS pools will be open for use again today after school.  Pool users will receive information through their athletic directors, coaches and/or organization today regarding practice and competition schedules.

The stipulated agreements allow D128 to use the LHS and VHHS pools while working with IDPH to gain compliance plan approval to conduct required repairs and pass necessary inspections prior to June 1, 2012.  The D128 Board of Education and Superintendent, Dr. Prentiss Lea, are committed to working with IDPH to bring the LHS and VHHS pools into compliance prior to the June 1, 2012 deadline.

A special thanks to Mundelein and Stevenson high schools for making their very busy swimming pools available to our students while our pools were closed. We greatly appreciated their efforts to accommodate the LHS and VHHS swimming programs during our time of need. 

And, thank you again for your assistance, patience and support throughout this challenging process.  We are very appreciative of your collective efforts in working with us toward both a temporary resolution and permanent solution to the swimming pool compliance problem.

Oct. 14 Update 

IDPH legal counsel has informed D128 legal counsel that the IDPH office is working diligently on settlement (stipulated) agreements for eligible swimming facilities.  As you recall, settlement agreements are legally binding agreements agreed to in lieu of administrative hearings and other due process rights. In addition, IDPH has informed us that the LHS and VHHS pools are both eligible for settlement agreements. IDPH will follow established protocol in executing settlement agreements for eligible swimming facilities. When we receive potential settlement agreements for our pools, D128 legal counsel, administration and/or Board will review and act on those agreements as warranted. 

We are greatly appreciative that you continue to refrain from contacting IDPH directly. Please continue to allow D128 legal counsel to act as our contact with IDPH, so that IDPH personnel may address our request (and the requests of others) for a settlement agreement and our compliance plan (and the plans of others).

As always, thanks for your support!

Oct. 11 Update

Revised LHS and VHHS swimming pool compliance plans and the required properly executed permit applications with Dr. Lea’s signatures were hand-delivered to IDPH by the D128 engineering firm, Fanning & Howey.  IDPH provided the D128 engineer who delivered the plans and application permits with a written receipt.  In addition, IDPH also acknowledged receipt of same to Dr. Lea via e-mail.  As a reminder, the review of our compliance plans is subject to the established IDPH protocol.

Again, we respectfully request that you refrain from contacting IDPH directly.  At this point, D128 legal counsel is acting as the primary contact with IDPH legal counsel, and we want to provide the IDPH engineering staff with the time necessary to assess our plan (and the plans of others).

As always, thanks for your assistance and support!

Oct. 6 Update

D128 legal counsel has been in contact with IDPH legal counsel, and our counsel believes that IDPH counsel is working in full good faith to assist D128 with the process. IDPH counsel has advised us that IDPH will consider alternative agreements, such as the Springfield YMCA agreement, in lieu of the administrative hearing process, for pool operators on a case-by-case basis. This is largely dependent upon where the pool operator is at in the compliance process.

To initiate the alternative agreement process, pool operators must first file required documents to request an administrative hearing.  The D128 administrative hearing request has been filed. In addition, pool operators must submit valid application permits and compliance plans.  As noted last week, the D128 revised valid application permits and compliance plan, reflecting the specific feedback and required engineering studies that were indicated at our September 26th meeting with IDPH officials, should arrive at IDPH offices on Tuesday (IDPH offices are closed on Monday for the Columbus Day Holiday).  Once the D128 compliance plan achieves formatting approval, the compliance plan will receive a case number and enter the thorough review process queue.  D128 legal counsel has indicated that at that point, they will have the opportunity to initiate a discussion regarding a possible alternative agreement with IDPH counsel in lieu of an administrative hearing. While we have reiterated our commitment to meet required IDPH compliance standards, and IDPH has acknowledged our commitment to do so, and D128 and IDPH have committed to working together through the process now available to all pool operators, the timeline for that process is subject to IDPH review protocol.  D128 counsel will remain in close contact with IDPH counsel in the coming days to ensure that we can move toward an alternative agreement or redress through the administrative hearing process as soon as possible.

Although many of you have contacted IDPH over the past few days on our collective behalf, at this point, we are requesting that you refrain from calling IDPH.  D128 counsel will serve as the primary contact with IDPH in the coming days, and we would like IDPH staff to have the time to do the work necessary on our compliance plan to bring this matter to closure and allow full use of our pools.

Again, thanks for your assistance and support… You are appreciated!

Oct. 5 Evening Update:

This morning, we learned that IDPH allowed the Springfield YMCA to reopen its pools, and granted them an extension on completing necessary compliance work. (See today's earlier update below for the complete article from the State Journal-Register.)  Our attorneys continue to contact IDPH General Counsel in Springfield to ask the following questions, among others:

1) Why were we (and all other non-compliant pool operators) not informed that an extension process was available?

2) What is involved in the extension process?

3) Will we forfeit any legal due process rights in the extension process?

4) What do we need to do to initiate and complete the extension process?

Superintendent Lea will follow-up with district counsel as this possibility takes shape.

Superintendent Lea has contacted all public and private suburban high schools on the non-compliance list. He will facilitate a conference call with most of those Superintendents on Friday morning to determine how affected districts can best work together to leverage their collective resources (legal, legislative, administrative and parental) to ensure that an extension is granted.
Now that our pools have been legally shut down, the district has legal due process rights.  The first due process step in this situation is an administrative hearing with an administrative hearing officer to make the case for “why our pools should not be shut down.” Our goal is to be the first, or one of the first, petitioners for the administrative due process hearing.  As such, our legal counsel filed the necessary paperwork for an administrative due process hearing today. Because of our sustained work and knowledge gained on this issue over the past few weeks, we are well positioned to present an excellent defense on our behalf. Additional due process steps available to us beyond the administrative process, if we do not prevail at that level, are through the judicial system. As always, we will take advantage of every legal avenue available to us to gain an extension to allow the district additional time to meet compliance, thus allowing our students and community immediate use of our pools.

WGN-TV News was in the District this afternoon. They aired a segment at 5:00 and will air a more extensive segment on tonight's 9:00 news regarding granting an extension to the Springfield YMCA and the relation of that extension to our situation (and to the situation of others). Several D128 administrators, parents, coaches and students were interviewed for the story. Also this afternoon, the District was contacted by the Springfield State Journal-Register, which broke the Springfield YMCA story. Superintendent Lea was interviewed for an extended period of time by reporter Dean Olson.

We will update this site as new information becomes available. Please feel free to "like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, where we will post the same information as we put on the websites. (See the bottom of this page for the District's Facebook and Twitter links.)

We have been informed that many of you contacted IDPH and/or the Governors Office today.  As always, thanks for your assistance and support . . . You are amazing.

Oct. 5 Update

The Springfield YMCA has re-opened its pools and has received an extension from IDPH. Read more in the Springfield Journal-Register.

An update regarding D128 pool closures will be posted later today.

Sept. 30 Update 

Lake County News Sun

http://newssun.suntimes.com/sports/7948383-419/nsc-teams-pool-resources-to-help-cats-and-cougars.html

ABC 7 News

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8374548&pid=8374076

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently recognized Community High School District 128 for financial excellence. The 2011 School District Financial Profile, based on the 2010 school year financial data, places District 128 within the Financial Recognition range. This is the highest category obtainable for the School District Financial Profile.