From the Superintendent

Dear Winnetka Families and Staff,

As promised, I am writing this morning to provide an update following the news earlier this week of a fire in the District Offices at 1235 Oak Street. As previously shared, the fire occurred late in the evening of July 29 and thankfully no one was harmed in the incident. The Winnetka Fire Department very quickly extinguished the fire upon their arrival. This allowed for the fire to remain isolated at the front of the offices; however, the damage to windows, doors, drywall and ceiling tile from entry, smoke and water was significant in this area making immediate remediation necessary in order for staff or visitors to safely occupy the space. The cause of the fire has been determined to be the result of an undermount LED cabinet light installed during a 2008 office renovation. It is apparent that this was an unfortunate random occurrence and not due to ongoing construction, unsafe conditions in the office or foul play. These lights have been removed throughout the offices in order to avoid any future issue of this kind.

Our construction manager, Bully & Andrews, is already on site at Washburne School for Phase II of the referendum project. Fortunately, Bulley & Andrews is able to afford us additional staff to begin repair and remediation work in the District Office. We are grateful to their quick response and valued partnership. At this time, we do not yet have an estimate on how long this work will take as ceiling tile and carpet replacement will be necessary as well. In the meantime, all District Office staff have been equipped with the ability to work remotely. Call forwarding has been enabled so District Office staff are accessible to staff and families at their posted office numbers during typical office hours. As soon as we have been provided with a more exact timeline of this remediation work, I will share that information with our school community.

Thank you to those staff and community members who kindly reached out to express concern and care for our team. All are safe, and we continue to work together to plan and prepare for a successful 2024/2025 school year. Thank you again to the Winnetka Fire Department for their responsiveness and ongoing partnership, as well as to the other North Shore Fire Departments who assisted on the scene. We look forward to a return to business as usual as soon as possible.

Most Sincerely,

Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent of Schools