District staff present $58.5 million capital plan, outline asbestos abatement, phasing and financing

District facilities staff and the construction team presented a draft scope, cost estimate and phasing plan for a proposed capital project that prioritizes elementary classroom renovations, HVAC upgrades and other school facility work. Nick, the district's facilities presenter, told the Board of Education the updated scope list contains 137 scope elements and a project estimate of $58,545,754. He said the work would be organized into bid packages and phases to increase contractor capacity and reduce schedule risk. "This is a 3 year project due to the scope and complexity of the work," he said, explaining the district does not have the manpower or time to complete the full scope in only two summers. He outlined a two-package strategy so two general contractors and trade contracts could work concurrently. A key focus is elementary classroom renovations. The presenters said several older buildings contain hazardous materials such as asbestos in ceilings, walls and some sink basins and that asbestos abatement is required before renovation. For example, Nick noted some rooms have hazardous coatings above an eight-foot line that must be removed, which increases demolition and re-build time. He described other code-driven issues such as hallway cubbies that currently intrude into classroom egress paths and must be reconfigured when rooms are renovated. The consultants presented a block schedule that begins with pre-referendum design and, if approved, construction spanning 2027'229 (three construction seasons plus in-between work). Sample phase costs shown were roughly $26.0 million for one package and $17.1 million for the remainder of hard construction; Nick explained differences in those numbers reflect which elements are included in each bid package and that the total includes hard and soft costs and contingencies. John McPhillips, speaking for the business office, presented financing assumptions: the district would apply about $16.6 million from a 2022 capital reserve and borrow roughly $41.9 million. He said projected principal-and-interest payments on that borrow, after applying the district's current building aid ratio of about 71.8 percent, are expected to be roughly budget-neutral compared with maturing debt. "That $41,900,000 translates to just $55,600,000 in terms of both principal and interest over the course of what we're assuming will be a 15 year term," he said. He summarized that state building aid would offset much of the new debt service and that timing of borrowing will use bond anticipation notes and staged issuances. Board members asked detailed questions about phasing alternatives, the potential for greater up-front funding to reduce disruption, abatement timing and whether construction could be scheduled when students are out of the building. Nick and the construction manager explained many abatement activities must occur when spaces are unoccupied or require containment and monitoring; abatement setups add fixed time and cost, so doing small batches could be less efficient. The presenters said doing more summers or smaller batches could reduce per-school disruption but would raise overall cost and extend the schedule. The board did not vote on the capital proposition at the meeting. Administrators said the board will consider and likely adopt referendum language at the Oct. 8 meeting to meet statutory public-notice deadlines; if adopted on Oct. 8, a district vote could be held Dec. 2, with public notice requirements driving the schedule.