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Finance committee proposes spending $655,000 operating surplus on HVAC, chiller, buses and facility repairs
Summary
The finance committee recommended allocating $655,000 in operating surplus and $300,000 in capital carry-forward to priority facility repairs and equipment purchases including multiple HVAC replacements, a chiller, a bus, gym retractable hoops and a $60,000 auditorium sound-system upgrade; the board will vote on the plan in new business and any approved carry-forward will go to the Board of Supervisors.
Mr. Nucci, reporting for the finance committee, told the Clarke County School Board that fiscal-year 2025 closed with an available operating surplus/general-fund transfer of $655,000 and outlined a recommended spending plan at the Sept. 22 meeting.
The committee proposed using approximately $534,000 of the operating surplus on five priority operating projects, including replacement of a Cooley Lower D Wing HVAC unit ($240,000), replacement of the school-board office multipurpose-room HVAC unit ($100,000), replacement of Boyce Elementary’s chiller ($100,000), repaving portions of playground/parking at Boyce Elementary and Johnson Williams ($27,000) and replacement work for failing HVAC units at Johnson Williams Middle School. The plan would leave about $121,000 unspent in the operating fund and would carry forward $300,000 in capital for next-year projects.
Capital carry-forward items included a $127,000 bus purchase (to maintain the replacement cycle), a $60,000 upgrade to the Johnson Williams Middle School auditorium sound system, $20,000 for retractable basketball hoops to fix a safety issue in the Johnson Williams gym, $20,000 for transportation-building security cameras, $20,000 for track repairs and $40,000 to repaint the school-board office. Mr. Nucci said the Cooley HVAC request arose from an internal facilities walkthrough by outgoing maintenance director Joey Brathwaite, who highlighted humidity issues and failing equipment.
Mr. Nucci said the board will vote on the recommended allocations in new business; if the board approves them, the request will go to the Board of Supervisors next month for final approval. He emphasized that carry-forward requests must be itemized down to the dollar.
Board members asked whether competitive quotes for the HVAC work had been solicited; Mr. Nucci said the process requires obtaining quotes and that staff would manage the procurement and vendor solicitation.
Next steps: the finance item will appear in new business for a board vote; if approved locally, the Board of Supervisors will consider the carry-forward and operating allocations in the next month.
