EDWARDSVILLE – During their work session on Monday, April 13, 2026, the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education received an update about Hamel Elementary School’s upcoming construction and asbestos abatement.
Last fall, the Board held several discussions about the district’s priorities and how to spend the remaining bond money. They agreed that Hamel Elementary School was a top priority because it needs asbestos abatement.
During the meeting on April 13, 2026, Interim Superintendent Dr. Allen Duncan said he met with Hamel staff members on March 31, 2026, to “get a clear understanding” of what they had been told and what they needed. He noted that the current administrative team had not been involved in previous conversations about Hamel and was eager to hear what the Hamel staff had to say.
“We just wanted to get a baseline understanding of everything that was going on,” he explained. “We had some really good conversations. The teachers kind of told us where they were at, and then the second part of the conversation was just asking what they needed. What do they think the building needs? What are their concerns with the building? And they were very honest. We had really good conversations.”
After their discussion, Duncan asked staff members to rank their top ten priorities at Hamel. The top three were asbestos abatement, a gym addition, and improvements to the staff’s lunchroom/classroom/conference room.
The conversation also revealed a few fixes that can be done over the summer, including exterior painting and a Wi-Fi repeater installation. The district also plans to review the condition of the exterior grounds and consider additional improvements throughout the summer.
Going forward, Duncan said the district plans to survey Hamel parents to learn about their priorities. He also wants the Board to finalize their priorities for Hamel. They need to determine a plan for asbestos abatement and decide if they want to spread this abatement over one or two summers. After these decisions are made, the district will find an architect to work on planning and design.
“This is a great start,” said Board member Matt Breihan. “But what I don’t want to have happen is that we give them false hope by them identifying their top priority and we’re not able to afford it.”
Duncan responded that the district is “very close” to finalizing the cost of these projects. CFO Dave Courtney added that the district is working to determine where the abatement must happen first in Hamel, which will drive the construction plans and cost. For example, if the district decides to abate the classrooms first, then the school might need to set up temporary classrooms, which will affect the cost.
Breihan said he thinks the district is “playing a real dangerous game here.” Courtney responded that the administrative team “didn’t commit to anything” but were simply trying to determine the priorities in this conversation with Hamel staff.
Duncan added that the district didn’t want to “just come and show them some design with zero input or feedback from the teachers who are living in that building,” so that’s why he believed the March 31 conversation was important.
Breihan noted that the Board was previously shown high-level renditions of Hamel construction, and Courtney said the district might not have been able to afford those plans.
Board member Sara Bauer also asked about previous conversations that considered combining Hamel and Midway Elementary School. Duncan agreed that the Board needs to “have a conversation about growth” to see if school enrollment increases or decreases.
“I definitely want to acknowledge the frustration, because I understand it,” he said. “We’re trying to do it right, trying to get this thing done the right way, making sure that all voices are heard and we’re following all the steps. It’s unfortunate because people have heard a lot, but just know that we’re trying to do this thing the right way.”
Breihan expressed his appreciation for Duncan’s work and clarified that, while he believes there were “false promises” made in the past, he understands “that has nothing to do” with Duncan.
The Board and Duncan agreed they would survey the Hamel families and go from there.
