Audit finds about $16 million in immediate equipment replacements across Franklin County schools
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Summary
An ABM facilities audit identified roughly $16 million in district equipment needing immediate or short-term replacement, flagged four priority schools and recommended bundled energy-conservation measures and HVAC upgrades; administration will provide detailed pricing in the coming weeks and pursue county funding options.
An engineering audit presented by ABM identified significant deferred maintenance and energy-efficiency opportunities across Franklin County Public Schools, singling out Rocky Mount, Leeway, Callaway and Snow Creek as priority sites.
The ABM representative summarized the firm's approach—energy conservation measures, discounted capital projects (primarily HVAC), and capital improvements—and said the audit found "about $16,000,000 worth of equipment that's in need of immediate replacement, immediate or very short term." The presenter said the district-wide volatility index is high, meaning many systems are near end-of-life and failures would cause classroom disruptions and emergency repairs.
Recommendations included LED lighting upgrades, building-envelope improvements, boiler controls, and converting fuel-oil boilers to propane where appropriate. For Rocky Mount specifically, ABM said the project is currently in design and would deliver independent classroom-level controls and improved indoor-air-quality systems: "Rocky Mount is slated—we're in design right now to do a full mechanical upgrade," the presenter said.
Board members discussed timing and construction windows; ABM said major retrofits targeting HVAC would be done during summer months and that the firm expects to deliver final cost estimates within a couple of weeks. Dr. Sears and other board members said they would begin conversations with the county finance committee about possible funding to address the district’s capital needs. No appropriation vote was taken at this meeting; ABM’s financials are due to the board soon.