NORMAL - Illinois State University got the official go-ahead Friday to spend $1.3 million to decommission and demolish the Dunn-Barton and Walker residence halls.

The money will come from the funding ISU's board of trustees OK'd Friday - more than $30 million in bonds and up to $23 million in other banking certificates, all of which will be used for a variety of campus projects.

Also at the meeting, the board issued condolences to the Northern Illinois University campus a day after a former student opened fire there, killing five people and himself and injuring 16 more.

Chairman's final meeting

Friday was board Chairman Carl Kasten's last meeting before retiring from his 18-year tenure on the current board and its predecessor, the Board of Regents. State, local and campus officials took time during the meeting to recognize Kasten for his achievements.

The three residence halls that make up central campus will be razed to allow construction to begin this summer on the university's Student Fitness and Kinesiology and Recreation Center.

Before the halls are torn down, workers must clear asbestos and lead paint, among other tasks.

As part of the campus's long-range housing renovation plan, those buildings won't be replaced. Also, Manchester Hall will be closed next year for updates.

Those changes led ISU to announce a few weeks ago that it was limiting its on-campus housing options for some juniors and seniors.

Group opposes plan

A group of students critical of the announcement, and its spring semester timing, had asked to address the board, but was turned down. ISU President Al Bowman read a statement before board action stating the trustees' agenda Friday didn't include information on the student housing plan, so there was no appropriate point for the students to have their say in that meeting.

Bowman invited the students to stay and meet with trustees or administrators following the meeting. But it didn't appear any waited through the more than two-hour meeting and executive session that followed.

The board OK'd issuing $32 million in bonds with interest costs of no more than 5.5 percent. The funding breakdown follows:

- $24.9 million for building and equipping the new fitness and kinesiology center.

- $2.6 million for a new power plant.

- $1.5 million for planning and designing a Hancock Stadium renovation.

- $1.3 million for the work of clearing Dunn-Barton and Walker halls.

The board also authorized the issuance of up to $23 million in certificates of participation with interest of no more than 5 percent. The certificates work like a lease-purchase agreement in which the university will make lease payments in the form of principal and interest to the investors.

The funding breakdown follows:

- $15.5 million for the Student Fitness and Kinesiology Recreation Center.

- $4.4 million for the power plant.

- $2 million for a human resource information system.