The District 428 School Board heard an update on construction projects Monday night.

The board was presented with updates on Cortland Elementary and the new DeKalb High School and also tabled two action items involving new boiler systems for the current high school and Malta Elementary.

Gary Gustafson, construction liaison for the district, said the progress at Cortland Elementary is 55 percent complete, and he fully expects the building to be opened on time, by August.

“We have been making some pretty good progress out at Cortland,” Gustafson said. “The building is starting to get enclosed. The roof is about 85 percent complete, and it’s starting to look like a real building out there now.”

Bidding will take place at Hopkins Park Community Center, 1403 Sycamore Road, today. Over 200 bidders for the new high school are expected, said Jeff Zurlinden, from Nicholas and Associates Construction Company.

“We are going to have a big turnout of bidders with a lot of participation,” Zurlinden said. “It’s going to be a long day, but we are excited to see when all the numbers come in where we will be at.”

The board then voted to table two action items on the agenda, both involving boilers at the high school and Malta Elementary.

Don Biggs, executive director of facility operation services for the district, said the high school swimming pool boiler had not been operated in four years.

“The reason that was shut down is it has heat exchanger cracks, plus foundation cracks, which cause leaks and carbon monoxide,” Biggs said.

The boiler systems are over 20 years old, Biggs said, so the wear and tear is not unexpected. He said the main school boilers are running 12 months out of the year which causes an increase in electric costs three times.

Biggs said the entire project, which included new pipes under the swimming pool, would cost around $1.2 million. He also said the Malta boilers have needed replacing for several years, and the district got a two-year grace period back in July to replace them.

Several board members said they would like a few options to see if the cost could be brought down, but they did say they need to make a decision fast.

“At the end of the day, we are going to have kids [at Malta] for the next two years, and they have to be safe,” said board member Holly Wallace.

Biggs said he would have the options up for review on the May 18 board meeting.