Facilities condition backlog grows to $1.4 billion; district unveils learning‑environment index and dashboard preview

Wichita Public Schools facilities staff told the board Wednesday that the district’s large‑scale maintenance backlog has grown to approximately $1.4 billion and that the district’s average facility condition index (FCI) rose from 0.53 in 2023 to 0.62 in 2025.

Luke Newman, director of facilities, described the FCI as the ratio of large‑scale maintenance needs to replacement value and said the figure has risen because building systems (roofs, HVAC units, chillers and other components) are reaching the ends of expected service lives. Newman said that at the current funding trajectory, projected needs could reach about $2.4 billion in five years and that keeping FCI at current levels would require an average annual investment near $127 million in large‑scale building needs.

What facilities is doing and new tools - Preventive maintenance: Newman said ramped‑up preventive work lowered the growth of reactive work and that facilities completes roughly 40,000 work orders per year with reactive maintenance costs averaging $10–11 million per year and preventive maintenance $4–5 million per year. - One‑time investments: The district has used COVID‑relief funds (about $81 million) for HVAC and windows and has invested in building safety and structural remediation at North and East high schools (tens of millions to date). The district also noted a pending Department of Energy grant application for energy upgrades ($15M grant anticipated with a $5M match described). - Learning Environment Index and dashboard: Facilities previewed a new learning‑environment index that scores experiential factors (daylight, air quality, accessibility, site and play spaces, sight lines and other items) to complement the FCI. Staff showed a dashboard prototype that will let the board drill into school‑level FCI, learning‑environment scores and projected large‑scale maintenance items; fuller detail is planned for the next board meeting.

Why it matters: Facilities staff and the superintendent framed the backlog as a compounding financial problem — the longer the district waits, the costlier it becomes and the greater the risk of critical building system failures that disrupt learning.

Ending: Facilities staff said they will present the dashboard and a more complete explanation of index components and weighting at the next board meeting and continue outreach with building staff through a 90‑school tour to capture qualitative needs.