Blount County schools seek $1.26 million for HVAC controls and unplanned replacements after years of failures

Blount County Schools asked the county commission on Aug. 12 to move two budget items forward to a full commission vote: $709,078 to replace outdated HVAC controls at Carpenter Middle School and William Blount Ninth Grade Academy, and $550,000 to create an unplanned HVAC replacement fund for fiscal 2025–26.

School staff and county finance officials said the controls replacement is part of an ongoing multi-year plan to replace obsolete control systems that are no longer serviceable; the unplanned fund is intended to allow rapid replacement when units fail so classrooms are not left without heat or air while formal bidding and appropriation processes run their course.

The school-side presenters said many existing control systems are obsolete and cannot be repaired because parts are unavailable, and that replacing controls on a single vendor platform gives district staff one app to monitor and manage multiple buildings. "This is a continuing effort to replace the old Novar control system that's failed throughout the district," a school facilities speaker said. He said four schools were converted last year…