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Facilities director outlines construction, solar and automation plans for Waunakee schools
Summary
John, the district’s director of facilities, briefed the board on building projects, staffing, solar arrays, emergency generators and new cleaning/maintenance robots; he reported roughly 1 million square feet of buildings under management and recent solar installations at Heritage and the intermediate school.
At the Aug. 11 meeting John, the district’s director of facilities, gave the board an overview of the facilities department’s responsibilities, staffing and ongoing projects, including construction at the new middle school, solar arrays and the deployment of automation technology.
John said the department manages more than a million square feet across seven school buildings and the district office and that 44 employees work in facilities with 15 reporting directly to him. He identified core priorities as safe, functional learning environments, ongoing construction logistics and energy-efficiency projects.
On renewable energy, John reported the district’s solar capacity at two buildings: “At Heritage, we have a 387 kilowatts … system” and the intermediate school has a 276-kilowatt system; he noted partners such as Data Wrangler and Clockworks are assisting with meter data analysis and have identified energy savings. John said the solar systems offset daytime use and that excess generation is exported to the grid; the district currently does not use battery storage.
John also reviewed emergency-power upgrades, noting that a backup generator is now installed at Bethel for the district data center, and summarized ongoing construction: the new middle-school project is moving toward opening next year and site work and switchgear installation are underway. He said the district is adding robotic equipment — scrubbers and painters — to reduce manual hours for custodial crews and cited the upcoming deployment of a third robot.
Board members thanked John for the overview and asked about generator siting and timing for robot deployment; John said the high-school robot arrival was imminent and that his team is coordinating deployment and training.
Ending: John asked the board for feedback and said he will return with ongoing updates as projects progress.
