District staff present draft summer 2025 capital-maintenance list; committee to prioritize after fund reconciliation

District facilities staff presented a draft, non-prioritized summer 2025 capital-maintenance list that aggregates requests from principals and department administrators across the Waunakee Community School District.

Staff emphasized the list is a comprehensive capture of building-level requests rather than a recommended priority ranking. The document groups items identified as safety needs (for example, additional camera coverage) separately from other summer project requests. Staff said principals provided maps and safety-minded requests — an example cited was Prairie asking for eight additional camera locations to reduce blind spots. Staff and the committee discussed that many items will require further technical vetting, cost refinement, or engineering before work could be scheduled.

Committee members asked how the draft connects to the district’s long-range facilities plan and raised examples including playground surfacing, gym-floor refinishing, and roof work. Staff said they will reconcile the draft against the long-range plan and previous committee actions; some items previously not approved (for example, engineering for certain playground work) were included only because principals requested them. Staff also reminded the committee of the ongoing middle school project and financial constraints: the first page of the draft totals roughly $9,000,000, but administrators said they will present a much smaller recommended amount in March after reconciling available funds and accounting for middle school commitments and a plan to use about $2,000,000 of project funds associated with the property tax levy.

The committee and staff agreed on a timeline: staff will solicit one-week feedback from principals, obtain further quotes, and return in March with a condensed, prioritized list and recommended funding options. Committee members also asked staff to collect data on the use of recently added inclusive playground surfacing so the board can evaluate whether districtwide conversions are warranted or whether a targeted, fiscally phased approach is preferable. Staff said the district’s incoming safety coordinator will help vet security and camera requests more thoroughly.

No formal vote was taken on the draft list; the committee requested additional analysis and a prioritization and funding recommendation to be presented in March.