Board authorizes planning for Valley View Elementary indoor-air-quality and HVAC project

Director Hennikins told the Columbia Heights Public Schools board on Feb. 25 that the district needs a multi-year plan to address deferred maintenance at aging facilities and asked the board to authorize administration to engage Wold Architects & Engineers and Carl Sanderson to begin detailed planning for an indoor air quality (IAQ) and HVAC project at Valley View Elementary.

Hennikins said Valley View, built in the 1960s, shows the district’s highest facility-condition needs and that unit ventilators and other systems in classrooms are past useful life. He described a project scope that would replace older ventilation equipment in most of the building, add supplemental geothermal heating and dehumidification, update classroom casework and renovate main student bathrooms in affected areas, and replace ceilings and lighting where construction requires it. The presentation proposed keeping the district’s roughly four‑year‑old boilers and integrating geothermal heat pumps to improve efficiency and stabilize temperatures.

Hennikins presented an estimated total project cost of $16.32 million, with about $14.5 million of the work qualifying under the long‑term facility maintenance (LTFM) indoor‑air‑quality category (bonded through board authority). He said the remaining elements (classroom casework and bathrooms) would be bonded against existing LTFM dollars and would not require additional taxes. The district’s financial advisors and design partners were present at a prior work session, Hennikins said, and planning now would keep the team on a timeline that would place tax impact in 2026 and phased construction in summers 2026–27.

Board discussion covered financing mechanisms (voter‑approved building bonds, operating levy, LTFM, and board‑authorized facility maintenance bonds for indoor air quality), comparative tax impacts in nearby districts and the district’s low current debt burden. Hennikins summarized the estimated tax impact at roughly $6 per month on a $275,000 home for the IAQ portion; because of a separate tax decrease the district saw this year from the fiscal disparities pool, he said the net change for an average homeowner would be about $1.17 per month in the first year the IAQ bonds take effect.

Board members asked about alternatives, building age and which parts of Valley View would not be replaced immediately; Hennikins said the district’s deferred maintenance funding alone would not keep Valley View from moving toward critical condition and that without leveraging additional financing the district could face much larger future bonds or more rapid deterioration. Members emphasized student and staff respiratory health, absenteeism and building safety in supporting the measure.

The board voted to authorize administration to engage Wold Architects & Engineers and Carl Sanderson to begin detailed planning and design for the Valley View IAQ project. The motion carried without a roll‑call vote.