Brunswick City Schools outlines eight-year capital plan tied to $102 million bond

At its May 20 meeting the Brunswick Board of Education reviewed an eight‑year capital expenditure plan that lists a proposed $102 million bond package and multiple district facility projects, staff said.

District staff presented the plan as a working document and asked board members to send questions so the package can be brought back for formal approval at the June meeting. “This is a fluid document,” the facilities presenter said while walking trustees through line‑item assumptions.

The plan groups work by campus and by year through 2033, and ties projects to three primary funding sources: an annual estimate of $2.2 million from the district’s permanent improvement levy, about $4 million a year from sales‑tax proceeds, and the proposed $102 million bond issue. Staff also noted a separate account — described in the presentation as a replacement or reserve account related to earlier facility debt — that will fund some items such as routine high‑school building repairs.

Most near‑term projects are maintenance and infrastructure work: roof studies and repairs, fire‑alarm replacements at several elementary schools, HVAC and chiller upgrades, unit‑vent replacement, kitchen equipment and walk‑in cooler work, and paving and sealing of parking lots. Athletic‑facility items include turf replacement scheduled for about 2033, a band tower and stadium seating replacement, and ongoing field maintenance and lighting upgrades.

The presentation listed facility‑specific projects across the district: Applewood, Crestview, Hickory Ridge, Huntington, Kidder and Memorial elementary schools all appear on the schedule for fire‑alarm and roof work; Memorial and Huntington had larger mechanical projects such as chiller and VAV replacements; the high school will receive scoreboard replacements and interior upgrades while a multi‑phase new high‑school construction program continues through 2029, staff said.

Staff provided timing for work tied to capital projects funded by the bond: a new maintenance building expected to be completed in November 2025, a Board of Education office building targeted for June 2026, elementary additions at Applewood and Kidder planned for August 2026, and a new Brunswick High School phase expected to finish in July 2027 with phase‑3 demolition and additional athletic and parking work through July 2029.

District staff also gave a snapshot of assets and assumptions: total assets under management presented as $282,311,559; an annual technology budget shown at roughly $585,000 for device replacement and infrastructure; and a rolling bus‑replacement plan that anticipates replacing roughly three buses per year on a 10‑year cycle.

Board members and staff asked for follow‑up details on several technical items — for example, the lifespan of stadium chillers and turf, and a pending district roof study staff said would update specific cost estimates. Staff said some costs shown in the slides were estimates from vendors and that the plan will be revised as detailed studies and updated quotes come in.

The board will not vote on the capital schedule at the May meeting. Staff said they plan to return in June with an updated document for formal approval after adding results from the current roof study and finalizing several vendor quotes.

Ending: Staff emphasized the plan is intended to be a living document that will be updated annually; trustees were asked to forward questions after the meeting so staff can refine cost estimates and timelines ahead of a June presentation.