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Vidor ISD board discusses using fund balance for roofs, HVAC, tech refresh after Schneider Electric assessment
Summary
Dr. Mains told the Vidor ISD board on April 20 that the district had about $17.7 million in audited fund balance (as of Aug. 31, 2024), including roughly $2.5 million set aside for insurance, and opened a discussion about using reserves for roofs, HVAC, technology and other nonrecurring needs.
Dr. Mains, speaking at a special Vidor Independent School District board meeting on April 20, told trustees the district's audited fund balance was about $17.7 million as of Aug. 31, 2024, including roughly $2.5 million designated for insurance. He said the district's three‑month operating‑expenditure guideline would be about $11 million and asked trustees to consider how low they want that fund balance to go if they use reserve funds for one‑time projects.
"We're not asking anyone to make a decision tonight," Dr. Mains said, but he urged the board to consider whether to maintain a higher reserve or draw down to a three‑month level to pay for maintenance and nonrecurring needs. The board discussed several candidate uses for fund balance and nonbond general‑fund purchases: a technology refresh on a five‑ to six‑year rotation (roughly $600,000 a year), network and phone hub upgrades (estimated at about $150,000 each), Chromebook purchases already underway, fine‑arts instrument replacements, athletic‑facility repairs including track resurfacing and potential turf for softball and baseball, roof and HVAC replacements, and vehicle/transportation fleet replacement.
Dr. Mains and board members also discussed the possibility of repurposing the Bader Junior High facility as a centralized transportation/maintenance site and noted an estimate—still not finalized—of up to $3 million in new recurring funding from the state pending legislative action.
After the fund‑balance discussion, representatives from Schneider Electric summarized a district facilities assessment, highlighting aging HVAC systems and roofing as the most urgent capital needs. Paige Bleakley, project development manager for Schneider Electric, said the district has a mix of control systems and some very old building automation equipment that is no longer supported; unreliable controls, she said, can cause campus HVAC failures. "When one of the boards for a system like that goes down, I mean, you can lose HVAC and control across your campus," Bleakley said.
Schneider's team recommended standardizing building controls, prioritizing rooftop HVAC replacements at older campuses and targeting the worst roofing areas for repair or replacement. The consultants estimated there are more than 100 HVAC units at the district that are at or near end of life and said targeting the largest users—typically the high school—would yield the best utility savings. Schneider also suggested opportunities to improve the building envelope, replace aging electrical equipment at some sites and consider solar or LED upgrades where appropriate.
Board members asked for additional cost details and noted they would prefer to delay a formal decision until the district has more clarity from the state budget process; trustees suggested a possible decision window in June or July. Dr. Mains said administrators would return with more formal numbers, priorities and a proposed timeline for spending down fund balance if the board chooses to do so.
No formal action was taken on the fund‑balance items at the meeting.
