Margie Ammon, director of facilities design for Adams 12 Five Star Schools, told the school board on Feb. 26 that the district's deferred maintenance totaled about $190 million, or roughly 14.34% of the district's estimated $1.3 billion facilities replacement value, exceeding the 10% limit in board policy 2.5.2.

The report was part of the superintendent's quarterly monitoring materials and included a broader review of the district's financial statements, cash liquidity and fund balances. Ammon said the district's deferred-maintenance total rose by about $20 million in the reported fiscal year, driven mainly by construction-cost escalation, more expensive replacement equipment and the addition of asset types now captured by new software.

Why it matters: Board policy 2.5.2 caps projected deferred maintenance at no more than 10% of total replacement value. Ammon said the district is currently above that threshold but expects the new 2024 bond program'about $248 million dedicated to renewal and replacement'to reduce the gap over the life of the bond. She emphasized there is no guarantee the percentage will return to compliance because some assets age into deferred status as others are fixed.

Software change and data differences: Ammon said the district recently migrated from CostLab to a system called VFA (a Gordian product that uses RSMeans cost data). She explained VFA allows the district to track more asset categories that CostLab did not, including landscape elements (grass areas, irrigation), playgrounds, scoreboards, dugouts and storage buildings. Ammon said VFA uses a more system-based approach to building components (for example, treating electrical as a system rather than individual outlets), which increases both the calculated replacement value and the reported deferred-maintenance total.

'We chose to go with more of a system based approach,' Ammon said, noting that the new database includes national cost data updated annually and therefore will change reported totals.

Financial context presented: In the monitoring overview preceding the facilities discussion, Erin (staff presenter) summarized quarterly financial statements and liquidity. She reported strong cash liquidity this year due to an adjustment in how the district receives state share payments, allowing the district to pursue investment maturities farther out and to generate higher investment earnings. As of Dec. 31 the district's budget for net investment earnings was $4.8 million and year-to-date receipts were about $4.6 million.

Other figures highlighted in the report include:
- Annual general fund spending is presented as roughly $600 million per year;
- The district said bond capital projects total about $830 million over the life of the bonds (approximately eight years);
- The first series of 2025 bonds netted about $185 million in the first tranche, which will fund capital projects; and
- The district maintains an assigned risk fund balance of $5 million.

Operational uptime and mitigations: The monitoring packet also required reporting on facility availability. Ammon said the district missed the board's 99% available instructional hours standard for one building during the prior fiscal year after water lines froze and flooded parts of Centennial Elementary School. She said districtwide mitigations were implemented (custodial checks, HVAC set-point changes and other protocols) and were used successfully in the subsequent year.

Follow-up and next steps: Board members asked for more detail on the items newly added into VFA and their budgetary effect. One board member asked whether the increase resulted from new asset categories or different useful-life assumptions; Ammon said both play a role but emphasized that VFA is capturing assets previously omitted. Staff said they will provide a list and sizing of the newly included items for the board in a future update and that next year's monitoring report will reflect the new system's full effects.

There were no formal votes or motions recorded during the discussion of the monitoring report and facilities items.

Ending: Staff emphasized that the district will continue quarterly monitoring and will present more detailed bond spending reports in upcoming meetings as proceeds are spent on allowable capital items.