Washoe trustees get update on $2.2 billion facility modernization plan and schedule for schools

Tammy Zimmerman, chief facilities management officer for the Washoe County School District, told the Board of Trustees on Feb. 25 that the district's facility modernization plan, approved by the board in December 2023, lays out 15 years of work and about $2.2 billion in renovations and reconstructions.

The modernization plan grew out of earlier revitalization work and a long public engagement process, Zimmerman said: "We went out to the community to get that input. So then with the facility modernization plan in December 2023, you guys did approve them." She described the plan as a shift from fit-and-finish repairs to reconstruction and modernization focused on "facility equity and efficiency."

The plan identifies reconstruction, modernization and repurposing work across the district and includes a multi-year implementation schedule. Zimmerman said construction is already underway for two projects: Vaughn Middle School (in design and expected to be completed in August 2026) and the new Stead Elementary School (construction underway; anticipated completion August 2026). Multiple other projects are in design, including Reed High School (scheduled for on-site construction beginning summer 2025 and substantial completion by fall 2027) and Matthews Elementary Campus (design and construction phases aimed at 2027 completion). The district also plans design and zoning work for new and rebuilt campuses such as Pine Campus and Wooster High School.

Board members asked how educational specifications (ed specs) inform the plan and its cadence. Zimmerman said ed specs define required instructional spaces and were last substantially revised about a decade ago; the district plans to revisit them on roughly a 10-year cycle. "The educational specifications are a recipe based off of the needs that our academics side has brought to us," she said.

Zimmerman walked trustees through the district's process: approval of the overarching modernization plan, annual capital improvement program (CIP) review, requests for design- and construction-phase funding brought separately to capital funding, local zoning reviews when campuses change footprints, and final board approvals. She noted the district will keep coming to the board for approvals at each funding and zoning milestone.

Trustees stressed community engagement and inclusivity for campuses that will consolidate multiple schools. Trustee Hall thanked facilities staff "for changing and kind of updating that language around the idea of a campus so that there's some inclusivity for our campuses that are gonna be essentially consolidated." President Smith, trustees and staff praised the sustained community outreach and the district's capital team for work done since the plan's adoption.

Zimmerman said the modernization plan is intended to make older schools more equitable with newer facilities by adding instructional hubs, group rooms and specialized spaces (for example, weight rooms moved out of breezeways, band rooms and steam labs). She said individual project scopes will reflect local school needs identified by principals and area superintendents.

The presentation closed with Zimmerman noting that each project will return to the board when the district seeks design or construction phase funding, and that the schedule and designs will continue to be refined through community engagement: "Every project will come before the board for approval for design phase funding, construction phase funding and zoning will come before the board as well."