School board approves $653,000 design amendment to address Winding Waters chiller, advance 30-classroom addition

The Hernando County School Board on Feb. 25, 2025, approved an amendment to a construction agreement authorizing $653,000 to design and administer work to reconfigure the central chiller plant that serves Winding Waters K‑8 and Weeki Wachee High School and to allow a planned 30‑classroom addition to proceed.

The amendment, described by district facilities staff as a design and construction‑administration package, was presented as necessary because an engineering commissioning report found the existing ice‑plant chiller system is not operating at design capacity and contains several failed compressor circuits. The report, prepared by SGM Engineering and summarized to the board, recommended removing the complex ice‑plant system and replacing it with simpler air‑cooled chillers; staff estimated that replacement cost at about $10 million and a repair to restore original capacity at about $7.98 million. Board members were told the $653,000 would pay for schematic design, roof work at the chiller building and construction administration; the district said the original proposal had been about $850,000 and had been negotiated down.

Why it matters: the chiller serving both campuses is roughly 15 years old—past the commonly cited expected life span for that equipment—and staff warned the system may not provide adequate cooling on hot days. The chiller issue intersects with the district’s larger facilities plan, which includes a 30‑classroom building the district says is needed for projected growth on the Winding Waters/Weeki Wachee campus. Board members debated whether to proceed with the amendment now or pause to consider broader options given the district’s existing long‑term debt and recent declines in enrollment.

Facilities staff described the technical findings and the options. “They could only test one of those modes because the other three were not working,” said Mister Reagan, a facilities staff member, summarizing the commissioning firm’s work. Reagan told the board the commissioning firm found four compressor circuits were out across the chillers—effectively removing needed capacity—and that the complex ice‑plant arrangement was difficult to maintain and no longer delivering the operating benefits it once did.

Superintendent Pinder and other staff said timeline and site logistics also influenced the request: the new classroom building’s guaranteed maximum price is scheduled for board consideration at the March meeting, and work on the chiller must be coordinated with the classroom contractor to avoid conflicts on the small campus. “This chiller plant work needs to be… coordinated with the new building both, timing wise and just logistics,” Pinder said, asking the board to approve the amendment so contractors already mobilized on site could incorporate the chiller work while panels and crews are in place.

Board members raised fiscal and strategic questions. Board member Mrs. Hawkins, who pulled the item for discussion, said she was worried about adding long‑term debt while enrollment has declined. “The way our enrollment is declining and the uncertainty of funding makes me nervous,” Hawkins said, and she urged a pause to consider rezoning and an objective study identifying where a new school might be more appropriate. Hawkins also cited the district’s long‑term debt figure, which she read from the annual financial report as $84,192,442.

Other members pressed for more detail on portable classrooms and capacity planning. “I’d like to see a list of the portables and the concurrency that have space where the portables that are on premises currently are not needed,” said Mister Johnson, requesting a school‑by‑school listing of portables the district counts in capacity analyses. Facilities staff said some portables are leased and some are owned, and that Florida concurrency rules require the district to count certain portables as capacity until they are removed or replaced.

Board members and staff also discussed the history of the Winding Waters addition and the campus energy plant. One facilities official said earlier direction was to keep a recent addition under a $4 million construction budget, which led to in‑classroom HVAC units rather than an outside ducted system; that decision contributed to the current maintenance and performance issues. “I was directed to hurry up and build that building the fastest way possible and to make it under $4,000,000,” the facilities official said, noting that design and procurement choices at the time aimed to meet that budget constraint.

After extended discussion about costs, timelines and the district’s broader facilities strategy, the board approved the amendment as presented and asked staff to return with additional information and a workshop on phase‑2 planning. Staff told the board the guaranteed maximum price for the 30‑classroom building will be before the board at the next meeting and that approving the $653,000 amendment will enable coordination to keep that building on its current timetable.

Votes at a glance - Approval to adopt the agenda dated 02/25/2025 — motion passed 5–0 (recorded earlier in the meeting). - Proclamation P25‑005 (Newspaper in Education Week) — approved 5–0. - Approval of minutes (02/11/2025 informal workshop and regular meeting) — approved 5–0. - Final order expelling student, case E2025‑01‑03 (remainder of 2024‑25 school year, with educational services) — approved 5–0. - Final order expelling student from school bus, case E2025‑02‑01 (remainder of 2024‑25 school year) — approved 5–0. - Amendment to agreement with Ziskovich to redesign central chiller plant and authorize purchase of construction goods and services for $653,000 — approved (board voted to approve the amendment and to workshop additional phase‑2 planning; tally not specified on the record provided).

What’s next: staff will return with the guaranteed maximum price for the 30‑classroom addition at the March meeting and will prepare a workshop with additional information about phase‑2 options, portable classroom counts and concurrency implications.

Ending: Board members asked for follow‑up material including a list of portables counted in school capacity analyses and additional cost breakdowns. The district said the $653,000 request had been negotiated down from an earlier proposal and covers schematic design, structural/roof work tied to the chiller building and construction administration; the actual capital cost to repair or replace the chiller plant was estimated separately at several million dollars depending on the option chosen.