Casa Grande Elementary District trustees review $227M facilities assessment, consider bond and other funding options

Casa Grande Elementary District trustees on Wednesday reviewed a facilities master plan and a multi-year list of capital needs that district leaders say total hundreds of millions of dollars if every recommended renovation and replacement were done.

The presentation, led by administrators and facilities staff, outlined current funding sources the district uses — including state District Additional Assistance, School Facilities Division building-renewal grants, voter-approved bonds, lease-purchase financing and federal ESSER relief funds — and described limits on each source.

“Everything we do as a district should connect back in some way to those core values,” said Dr. Lecky, the district administrator who opened the study session, listing “excellence, integrity, collaboration, service and compassion” as guiding principles for capital decisions. The board’s work, he said, should align facilities investments with teaching, staffing and family engagement priorities.

Tom Wallaber and Tim Mace walked trustees through detailed spreadsheets and Orcutt|Winslow’s facilities master-plan estimates. The consultants’ full program-level replacement estimate, in 2024 dollars, exceeded $227 million; district staff produced filtered, lower-cost options and a prioritized list. Mace, the district’s facilities lead, said renovating several schools would cost…