Board reviews revised five‑year capital improvement plan and draft tentative budget amid slowing growth and rising costs

Superintendent Connor and the district's finance and facilities teams briefed the board on June 17 on a revised five‑year capital improvement plan (CIP) and the draft tentative operating budget for fiscal 2025‑26, highlighting slower enrollment growth, rising construction and operating costs and the challenges of late state budget action.

Chief among capital priorities, district construction leaders said, are a full HVAC and science‑wing renovation at Northport High; completion of Oak Park wing renovations; a multi‑year expansion of the Sarasota Technical College (STC) campus (now supported by a $7.5 million federal subrecipient grant); and continued planning for a replacement auditorium at Sarasota High that planners currently estimate at about $75 million. Project timing was adjusted across the five‑year plan to reflect slower growth in parts of the county and to preserve flexibility for funding and debt service. "Our goal is to maximize our existing resources the best we can," Dr. Kemp told the board as she introduced the revised CIP.

Budget director Krista Curtner told the board the district built the…