PSD outlines multiyear plan, financing options for air conditioning; Weber and Lesher middle schools prioritized

The Poudre School District presented an update Tuesday on plans to install mechanical cooling in the 30 district schools that currently lack it, prioritizing Weber and Lesher middle schools for work beginning next summer and outlining funding options to accelerate installations across the district.

CFO Dave Montoya told the board the debt-free mill levy approved by voters in November 2024 is the core financing vehicle enabling deferred-maintenance work, and outlined how the levy reallocated existing general-fund items and created roughly $22.9 million a year dedicated to deferred maintenance. Montoya said that, after moving existing operations staffing and some operating budgets into the debt-free mill levy, the district freed about $21.5 million in general-fund budget that has been dedicated to several priorities including small schools, salary adjustments and equipment replacement.

Nut graf: The district plans a phased, multiyear approach. Staff proposed a mix of strategies — shifting a portion of planned capital to air conditioning, using remaining 2016 bond reserves and project closeouts, deferring inflationary increases to some maintenance lines, and, as a later option, issuing certificates of participation — to assemble funding. The district also selected design-build teams and presented schedules to produce guaranteed maximum prices (GMPs) before construction.

Montoya and project teams described four financing “levers” that can be used together or separately. In the district’s example model, combining the levers could produce roughly $110 million over 15 years (the district modeled a 2% inflation assumption for that scenario). The levers are: - Reallocating a portion of the capital/large-project budget toward AC (example: shifting $2M a year out of larger projects into AC work). - Using remaining 2016 bond reserves and project closeouts (staff identified about $20.2M in bond-related reserves and closeouts as potential one-time sources). - Freezing or deferring inflationary increases for certain maintenance lines for several years (the model used a five-year freeze to create capacity for up-front AC funding in the example). - Issuing certificates of participation (COPs) as pay-as-you-go debt if the district needs to accelerate work; staff discussed COPs as an option distinct from voter-approved general obligation bonds and said the district’s underwriter estimated COP issuance capacity tied to debt service assumptions.

Project teams described the work planned at Weber and Lesher as multiyear, phased efforts so that short summer construction windows are achievable. Contractors reported field investigations, scanning and schematic design tasks already underway and noted long lead times on some mechanical and electrical equipment. Saunders Construction said Lesher’s first summer phase will focus on cooling a south wing and defer larger electrical work to a follow-up summer; Franzen & Pittman said Weber’s existing heating plant is in good condition and initial work should aim to add cooling to the current system where feasible.

Board members asked about priorities, how many projects the district could complete per summer, and trade-offs among the financing levers. Several directors said they preferred using one-time reserves and reallocations before pursuing COPs or bonded debt; at least one member expressed concern about issuing COPs and preferred pay-as-you-go strategies. Staff said bonding would likely require voter approval and that COPs would be structured as annual appropriations (not a dedicated mill levy) and would be paid from general fund resources.

Ending: Staff will continue design work on Weber and Lesher, return with GMPs and provide further analysis of financing timing and capacity to perform summer work; the board asked for updates on contractor capacity and the district’s ability to pre-purchase long-lead equipment where appropriate.