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Chatham County Schools presents proposed FY2027'FY2033 capital improvements program, asks county to reprioritize some projects
Summary
District operations staff presented a proposed FY2027'FY2033 CIP to the board; the proposal reorders priorities (life-safety, capacity, MEP, facility upgrades), defers a Silco wastewater project to future status and requests county consideration of roof and HVAC replacement timing to address life-cycle concerns.
Assistant Superintendent for Operations Chris Blyce and Director of New Construction and Maintenance Randy Drumheller presented a proposed fiscal-year 2027 through 2033 capital improvements program (CIP) to the Chatham County Board of Education on Oct. 20 and asked the board to approve the proposal for submission to the county manager.
The proposal reorganizes projects by priority — life-safety, capacity expansion, mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) work, then facility upgrades — and moves one previously scheduled item, the Silco wastewater system replacement, back into "future projects" rather than showing it as a scheduled project this budgeting cycle. Blyce said the move may save county borrowing costs because the expected momentum from state environmental agency actions had slowed.
Drumheller outlined roof and HVAC needs and said the district has completed roof-assessment work and prioritized MEP work; he said the district is promoting timely replacements to avoid emergency failures that disrupt schools. The board discussed schedule changes for the new elementary school and asked clarifying questions about funding years and how the district and county coordinate borrowing and project timing.
The board voted to approve the proposed CIP package as presented for submission to the county manager and county commissioners for their consideration; administrators noted the proposal is the district's request to the county and the county retains final funding and scheduling authority.
Blyce and Drumheller said the district will continue to provide project feasibility and assessment data to the county and will monitor scheduling to reduce the risk of in-service failures (for example heating/AC breakdowns or roof leaks) by addressing life-cycle needs earlier where possible.
