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Task force favors $700M bond to modernize schools; seismic retrofits and deferred maintenance emphasized
Summary
The district’s task force recommended a $700 million bond level to address building modernization, safety and technology needs; staff highlighted Inglemoor and Leota projects, deferred-maintenance buckets and seismic retrofit priorities and said total identified need across studies is about $1.2 billion.
At the study session, Ashley Davies, facilitator for the district task force, presented the group’s prioritized capital package and said residents consistently ranked modernizing aging school buildings and safety/security as top priorities. The task force recommended a $700 million bond level; Ashley said 65% of task-force members supported that cut line.
William Tribble, director of capital projects, described that the $700M scenario would continue work at two priority campuses (Inglemoor High School phase work and Leota Middle School phases), finish priority elements of earlier projects and fund district-wide deferred-maintenance needs such as electrical and HVAC replacement, roof work, bathroom accessibility renovations and other items that staff said had accumulated to large totals in facility-condition assessments.
Tribble described the district’s seismic-assessment work and said some schools have larger at-risk campus areas requiring intrusive retrofit work to meet life-safety goals; staff noted seismic retrofits can be highly invasive and in some cases approach the cost of new construction. A board member asked why seismic work had not been completed during recent remodels; Tribble replied the seismic survey was completed after earlier designs and some seismic elements had been engineered out of previous project budgets.
Staff also proposed playground upgrades to ensure inclusive play spaces at nearly all elementary schools, fiber and infrastructure projects to support districtwide technology and continued districtwide security improvements that began as prototypes during the 2022 bond. The materials include a modest increase in contingency and overhead (about 6%) to buffer volatility in construction costs.
Staff and task-force members emphasized that $700M addresses immediate priorities but is not the total need; presentations said cumulative district needs from studies were approximately $1.2 billion. The board did not act on a bond placement; staff will return with more detailed project lists and cost breakdowns at upcoming study sessions.
