Poudre School District approves HVAC, lighting upgrades for Beatty and O'Day elementaries

The Poudre School District Board of Education voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve contracts for HVAC and lighting upgrades at Beatty Elementary School and O'Day Elementary School.

The board authorized a $3.4 million contract with Bridal Construction for Beatty and a roughly $1.7 million contract with Golden Triangle Construction for O'Day, Chief Financial Officer Dave Montoya told the board during the presentation. "Tonight I am here to present, a fairly, intensive project and that is, actually providing, air conditioning and HVAC upgrades to Beatty and O'Day," Montoya said.

Montoya said the projects were included in a five-year facilities plan and that passage of the district's debt-free middle levy override (Measure 4A) in November 2024 made the work possible now instead of waiting for equipment failures. He described the work at Beatty as a full-building rooftop-unit replacement coupled with LED lighting retrofits; O'Day will receive targeted rooftop and boiler replacements and lighting upgrades.

The contracts list anticipated substantial completion dates of Aug. 1, 2025, for Beatty and Sept. 1, 2025, for O'Day. Montoya warned the board about supply-chain and cost risks: "We have some pretty intensive equipment lead times ... tariffs and shipping can ... change daily," he said. He added that the district is prepared to use rented temporary cooling units if work extends into the start of school. The 2025-26 school year in the district begins Aug. 14, 2025.

Board members asked about how the two schools were selected and whether investments would be prudent if buildings were later consolidated. Montoya said both projects were already in design before the override passed and were prioritized in the short window between the election and the summer construction season. Superintendent Kingsley and Montoya also said the district expects to retain and reuse facilities for other purposes if configurations change in the future, and that maintaining buildings remains a priority even if uses evolve.

The motion was made by Director Jessica Zamora and seconded by Director Jim Brokish. The board voted: Jim Brokish, Kristen Draper, Connor Duffy, Kevin Havelda, Carolyn Reed, Scott Schoenbauer and Jessica Zamora all voted aye; motion passed 7-0.

Montoya and construction staff told the board they will continue to monitor tariffs, lead times and potential change-order impacts and will report to the board if costs or schedules shift significantly. "If it starts getting to the point where it doesn't make sense, we may have to talk about, is this the right time to do it?" Montoya said.

The board approved the contracts during the meeting after public recognitions and other agenda items, and asked staff to proceed with procurement and preconstruction steps so work can begin in June. Montoya said the district's construction management team will coordinate temporary certificates of occupancy and any short-term accommodations for classrooms while final punch-list items are completed.

The district packet listed the contractor awards and contract values; board documents and contracting records will be posted to the district's procurement pages when executed.