One Oak Park school got a recent received a makeover, not from the taxpayer but courtesy of the school’s parent-teacher association.

As the oldest Oak Park campus, Brookside Elementary School on Kanan Road needed a face-lift. Improvements were made to the aging multipurpose room, the central quad area and a prominent wall in the outdoor lunch area. Materials were either donated or paid for by the PTA.

PTA president Toni Caruso and her husband Keith spent much of their winter break updating the multipurpose room, which is used for school assemblies, special events and plays, as well as for lunch and physical education classes on rainy days.

Before the winter break, parents removed deteriorating and discolored ceiling tiles and cleaned and prepared the walls for painting. The Carusos came in and removed bulletin boards and an unused trophy case, fixed broken walls, installed new ceiling tiles and painted the entire room beige.

The Billig family, which has several students in the school, and Berg Electric donated a new track lighting system for the stage. Four new speakers were mounted on the walls to create a surround-sound effect.

Brookside alumnus Wayne Olsen from The Audio Visual Company installed six new microphones and adjusted the sound system to work within the constraints of the room. Custom drapes will be used to block light during assemblies.

Caruso estimates she and her husband spent more than 120 hours working on the school

“It was worth it. Everything looks beautiful,” said Caruso, whose 9-year-old son Rocky is in fourth grade at Brookside. “It shows what a little work can do.”

The total cost for the multipurpose room upgrade was about $6,200, which covered the electrical work, paint, plaster, ceiling tile, brushes and molding.

“It is a dramatic improvement that is really something of a miracle considering the limited budget our PTA had to work with,” Principal Debra Burgher said. “Our PTA president Toni Caruso and her committed team have donated their time, talent and energy to moving these projects forward. We are deeply grateful.”

Just outside the room, the school’s much-used courtyard, known as the quad, was also refurbished. The 10,000-square-foot open area between the two main classroom buildings, which was mainly half-dead grass, now has a concrete patio surrounded by new grass. A large, approximately 5foot-tall letter “B” made of blue crystal adorns a center section of the patio. Two long benches near the top of the patio provide seating. The area will be used for performances and gatherings, Burgher said.

“It will also serve as a grand outdoor classroom,” she said. “Students and staff members will enjoy teaching and learning outside in the sunshine and fresh air.”

Caruso and Burgher designed the quad with Brookside parent Raquel Karolyi, a landscape designer. The courtyard project cost about $27,000.

“We hadn’t done any major projects in a few years, so the funds were in our account,” Caruso said.

To further decorate the area, a blank exterior multipurpose room wall that faces the outdoor lunch area and quad will soon have new decor. Students spent two days painting 220 tiles with their own designs. The tiles will be mounted on the wall, and the Brookside school name will run along the top of the mural. Families paid $20 to $25 per tile, which not only covered the cost of the materials and installation but also raised several thousand dollars for the PTA, Caruso said.

“It’s so nice to finally do something to make the school pretty,” she said.

First-grader Madison Wiltshire’s tile design includes a peace sign and Madison’s name.

Madison’s fourth-grade sister Kaitlin painted a mosaic design on her tile while their mother, Sandy Wiltshire, watched.

“I think it’s important to leave a legacy, which this project does,” Wiltshire said. “It’s such an amazing school.”

Second-grader Carson Balke painted a smiley face on a yellow background while his sister Hannah Rose, who graduated from Brookside last year, painted her name and a rose on her tile.

“My mom said it was a good idea because I can take my kids here someday and show them,” said Hannah Rose, who is in sixth grade at Medea Creek Middle School.

Her mother, Connie Balke, commended the school community for its support of the improvements.

“The quad looks fabulous,” Balke said. “It really enhances the whole look of the school.”

A grand opening ceremony is planned for the end of the month after everything is completed, Caruso said.

The school is scheduled for exterior painting this summer, paid for through the district’s Measure R bond.