CALUMET CITY | Thornton Fractional Township high school District 215 officials are aware of the need for more lockers, specifically at TF South High School in Lansing, where there are 175 more students than lockers.

TF South was built in the late 1950s and has 1,840 lockers. According to Principal Dean Auriemma, the problem with increasing enrollment is that some students are having to double up on lockers.

That causes problems because the lockers are not very big, and there are some items of clothing that students must keep in their lockers.

School board members were told that space exists to install another 200 or so lockers, which would solve the problem, for now.

But district Superintendent Creg Williams said the cost of such lockers is prohibitive: $200 apiece, with a cost of about $300 apiece for lockers installed in athletic locker rooms.

Locker replacement came up during a Building and Grounds Committee session in which the district discussed how to pay for improvements, including the replacement of aging water pipes and repairs to roofs TF South and Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City.

School board Vice President James Gigliotti was sympathetic to the locker issue.

"Water leaks are something we have to address, but to me, the locker thing is a priority," he said. "I think everyone should have their own locker."