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OCPS outlines next wave of comprehensive renovations, capital-renewal funding tied to sales surtax
Summary
Facilities staff told the board the district will complete its early sales-tax renovation list and begin the next round of comprehensive renovations and capital renewal projects funded mainly through the county half-cent sales surtax extended by voters.
Orange County Public Schools presented a multi-year schedule of comprehensive renovations and capital renewal projects at the May 13 work session and said most capital-renewal work will be accomplished alongside larger renovations when feasible.
The distinction matters because the district anticipates about $2.95 billion in forecasted capital-renewal and comprehensive needs over the next decades, and staff said roughly $2.0 billion of those renewal needs can be absorbed within planned comprehensive renovation projects.
Mike Winter, program director for capital renewals, said the district completed much of the original sales-tax list of 136 schools and is finishing work on Orange Technical College campuses. He said the capital-renewal program, funded by a special renewal fund sourced from the county half-cent sales surtax, was set up in 2014 and currently has 88 active projects at 44 sites with projected costs of about $279 million.
Winter emphasized that continuation of the capital-renewal program depends on future sales-surtax renewals but noted that Orange County voters extended the surtax in November so the program now has funding into 2035. He said the renewal fund is targeted at projects that replace systems and equipment costing $50,000 or more and that the district uses a facilities-condition assessment to identify needs.
Winter also reviewed district-wide initiatives that will be paired with renovations, including installation of unisex inclusive restrooms, vape detectors in student restrooms funded partially through JUUL settlement funds, youth-lot shade structures, and expanded card-reader access required by 2024 school-safety legislation. He said the district is prioritizing card-reader installs for exterior doors into interior campus areas to improve controlled access and intends to complete high-school installations before the 2025-26 school year.
Winter said staff will continue to plan schedules and optimize the use of ODP (owner-direct purchase) to save sales-tax costs on construction materials. No formal board action was taken at the work session; staff will return with a capital budget proposal during the fiscal adoption process.
