Tamara Sweeney, director of facilities for Portland Public Schools, told the committee that daily operations and routine maintenance are improving but that the district faces substantial capital needs. She said work-order resolution rates have increased recently and that a new skilled-trades hire should help shift the balance toward resolving more work orders than are created.

Sweeney said the district continues to rely on the 2016 facilities assessment as the primary inventory of building needs but emphasized the difference between an inventory and a strategic master plan. She said staff compiled outstanding items from the 2016 assessment into a spreadsheet that extends to 2036 and that the summed value of those items is "like, $84,000,000 or something like that," framing the number as an order-of-magnitude backlog rather than a finalized budget.

The director recommended issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for a new facilities assessment that would support a broader master plan and prioritization framework. Committee members asked about timing and cost; Sweeney said the assessment will require budgeting and that she and Chair Bridal will work on an RFP so the district can obtain firm costs before committing budget dollars. Staff emphasized the district’s current short-term prioritization principle: "safe, warm and dry," while also noting the need to consider projects whose delay would drive higher long-term costs or that could offer long-term efficiency gains (for example, renewable-energy investments).

Board members were invited to review the compiled spreadsheet and suggest priorities; staff said they will continue to refine the list and to prepare for January planning milestones tied to the capital plan.

Sweeney closed by reiterating that a master plan is needed to set priorities and that staff will return with RFP language and a proposed timeline for completing a new assessment and developing the capital plan.