Facilities director outlines $40 million in needs; boilers, HVAC controls, roofs and vehicles prioritized

Jason Farris, the district's director of facilities and transportation, gave a detailed report to the board on capital and maintenance needs, saying the district faces roughly $40,000,000 in facility work and listing several high-priority projects and equipment shortfalls.

Farris told the board, “With $40,000,000 worth of facility needed, obviously, I'm not gonna address all of those concerns,” and then focused on immediate items. He said boilers at Summit Elementary need replacement at an estimated cost of about $170,000 and that the junior/senior high school requires a custom rooftop unit that will be temporarily replaced by a trailer unit while the new unit is built; he estimated the rooftop unit work at about $200,000.

Farris flagged districtwide HVAC controls as the most pressing long-term issue: “The cost to upgrade the entire district. It's about 2 and a half to $3,000,000,” he said, explaining that aging and incompatible control systems increase daily maintenance demands. He also said roof replacement needs are large: “Each 1 of those roofs to replace is about $1,300,000,” and later characterized the total campus need as in the millions.

On vehicles and equipment, Farris said the maintenance fleet is aging and that a reliable plow truck would cost about $65,000. He gave mileage figures for several route and maintenance vehicles (one maintenance vehicle with about 311,000 miles, another at 182,000 miles, two transit vans at roughly 101,000 and 95,000 miles, and a Suburban with about 75,000 miles), and warned that breakdowns strain the ability to transport students.

Farris also raised a maintenance responsibility dispute over a wooden playground (referred to as the Play Park/Play Park Above the Clouds). He said a 2018 memorandum of understanding removed the original parent group and left the city and district jointly responsible for maintenance but did not specify funding responsibility; he estimated needed repairs could exceed $15,000. A board member said the Kiwanis Club had previously offered $40,000 for the park but that the funds appear to have been reallocated.

Why it matters: The items Farris presented are capital and operating costs that will affect budget planning and may require board decisions about issuing bonds, reallocating reserves, applying for grants, or scheduling projects. The director urged early planning to avoid increasing costs and repeated equipment failures.

Board follow-up: Farris and board members discussed meeting with the city about playground responsibilities and exploring funding or donor options. The board did not vote on immediate financing at the meeting.