Facilities presentation shows maintenance funding gap of $4.9M–$10M; safety prioritized

District facilities staff told the Finance & Operations Committee that current maintenance spending is roughly $1.70 per square foot while the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) recommends a range of $3 to $4 per square foot, producing a substantial funding gap.

"We currently have about $1.70 per square foot that we spend," Doctor White said, adding that the district has more than 4,252,000 square feet of space and that the resulting gap is roughly $4.9 million on the low end and could approach $10 million to reach higher ASBO guidance.

White framed the shortfall as the result of years of deferred maintenance and said staff are pursuing grant opportunities for major items such as roofs and HVAC while developing a facilities master plan. For near-term work, White said safety and security are the top priorities; that has driven recent "bathroom blitz" work to repair stalls and locks and other visible fixes. Staff also discussed the need to fix small but important items such as door locks so that bathrooms function with privacy and dignity.

Board member Miss Downer urged the district to consider reducing reliance on contracted privatized maintenance and to examine bringing more work in-house over a multi-year strategy to achieve both cost savings and more reliable ongoing maintenance.

Staff and several board members asked that the facilities-gap presentation and related materials be posted to BoardDocs and to the district budget pages so the public can find the numbers alongside other budget reports.

Why it matters: The funding gap helps explain recurring building problems such as roofing and HVAC failures and frames decisions the board must make about prioritization, possible reallocation, and whether to increase ongoing maintenance funding or change contracting strategy.