Arrowhead UHS School District staff told trustees at a facilities workshop that the district’s 10‑year maintenance estimate stands at about $53 million and that nearly a third of that — roughly $14 million for academic buildings plus more than $2 million for athletics and grounds — falls in the plan’s first year.

Nut graf: The timelines and costs were presented as an explanation for why the district has repeatedly considered referendums and why trustees are exploring alternatives, including partnerships and annexation, rather than relying solely on operating dollars. Facilities staff cautioned that operating revenues are intended for day‑to‑day operations and not for large capital replacements.

Trustees were told three rooftop HVAC units will be replaced this summer (including one serving the library) and that other rooftop units and the pool’s dehumidification/air‑handling equipment are at or beyond typical life expectancy. Facilities staff said parts for the pool’s older system are difficult or impossible to find; one staff estimate placed a full replacement in the low‑single‑millions (an order‑of‑magnitude estimate of about $3,020,000 was cited by staff as a rough figure, not a vendor quote). The record shows Fund 46 holds about $4,000,000 in district capital reserves but roughly $2,000,000 of that is earmarked for special‑education renovations.

Board members repeatedly asked staff what would happen if routine rooftop or pool failures occur while the district lacks a dedicated capital referendum; staff said urgent units would be repaired or replaced from reserves when possible but that repeated major replacements would quickly exhaust available funds. Facilities staff described some projects already scheduled as “emergency” replacements for the coming months.

Trustees discussed options beyond cutting staffing — noting that staffing cuts sufficient to close the capital gap would reduce program capacity and likely harm the district’s educational offering. Several trustees emphasized that smaller or targeted referendums (for operational bridge funding or limited emergency capital) remain an option but that any referendum proposal needs clear strategy and better community education before being presented to voters.

Ending: No referendum was approved at the workshop. Trustees asked the facilities director to refine an urgency‑ranked list of capital projects and to provide updated cost estimates and timing. The board also agreed to continue parallel work on partner models (annexation/partnership with the Village of Hartland) to determine whether shared facilities or long‑term usage agreements could reduce Arrowhead’s immediate capital needs.