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District officials outline $6.4M of immediate facility emergencies and urge higher maintenance funding
Summary
Facilities director Larry Hadley told the board about a series of urgent building failures — a melted boiler and multiple failing roofs — and said the current $6.25 million maintenance budget cannot cover those emergencies and other capital needs; the district is also grappling with an aging bus fleet.
Larry Hadley, Weber School District facilities director, told the board the maintenance budget and projected inflation create a persistent shortfall for the district’s capital needs and listed six immediate emergencies that together total about $6.4 million.
"From February, we had a boiler go down in Fremont...we are starting to replace that boiler," Hadley said, putting the replacement cost for that unit at about $750,000 after scope reductions. He listed three roofs needing replacement: Roy High estimated at $1.7 million, Uinta and Green Acres combined at $1.3 million, and Rocky Mountain at $600,000. Hadley said those six emergencies total about $6.4 million, while the district's annual maintenance budget is $6.25 million.
Hadley presented two different index‑based illustrations showing 10‑year capital shortfalls: using a broad inflation index he calculated a shortfall of about $2.8 million over ten years; using a construction materials producer price index he calculated roughly $6.4 million. He said his recommendation to address recurring deferred maintenance would be to raise the annual maintenance budget to about $9.5 million to cover ongoing needs and reduce the risk that additional emergencies force the district to divert funds from other priorities.
Hadley also described rising costs for playground equipment and HVAC: bids for three playgrounds came back at over $600,000, and some chillers/AC costs were flagged separately. He estimated a five‑year capital program to address deferred maintenance across all schools at about $79 million.
On the transportation fleet, Hadley said the district has two bus makes (International and Bluebird) and that International has announced it will stop producing that model and parts, leaving roughly 95 International buses subject to obsolescence. He said the district receives about $2.3 million per year for bus purchases, which funds roughly 10–12 buses per year; to replace 95 buses in a three‑year push would cost an estimated $7.5 million (about 30 buses per year), while a five‑year plan (20 buses/year) would require about $5 million per year.
Hadley and board members discussed funding priorities for large projects and the tradeoffs between focusing maintenance dollars on emergencies versus preserving money for routine capital improvement. Hadley warned that if emergencies consume the maintenance budget, the district will have "no money for any capital improvement or emergency for the 25‑26 school year."
