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Board reviews 43-item facilities project list; planetarium, HVAC and security upgrades highlighted
Summary
Facilities director Dan Pesch presented a 43-item project list emphasizing security upgrades, a GISH planetarium overhaul, HVAC replacements (including a nearly $3 million Barb Middle School project), and LED lighting at Walnut Middle; many projects will use QCPUF bond dollars and will return for procurement approvals.
Dan Pesch, the district facilities director, presented the board with the annual facilities maintenance project list on Nov. 13, 2025, describing how the list was developed with input from principals and building staff and noting the plan includes 43 projects of varying priority and funding sources.
Pesch highlighted several projects: replacement of the Neal administration parking lot; a planetarium upgrade at GISH that will include a new dome and projectors intended for both school and possible community use; a senior-high replacement cooling tower planned to avoid midyear failures; and a large HVAC upgrade at Barb Middle School, which Pesch said carries an "almost $3,000,000" price tag and will not be completed during a single summer. He also emphasized districtwide security work, including camera installs and vape-detection upgrades.
"We have a total of 43 projects to tell you that we'll get all 43 done, or that all 43 will even get started," Pesch said, warning that funding and scheduling constraints will influence what can be accomplished. On vape detectors, Pesch said the sensors also register loud sound and atmospheric changes and are used where cameras cannot be placed; detected events tie to cameras that start recording automatically.
A separate board member explained the Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund (QCPUF) financing: the district issued $7.2 million in bonds and can levy up to three cents for qualified uses; those proceeds are being used to cover many of the larger safety and security projects on this year's list. Pesch said large projects will return to the board for formal approval when bids and contract documents are ready.
Next steps: staff will pursue procurement and bidding for the larger projects and bring individual proposals back to the board for approval; some QCPUF-funded projects will proceed under the bond-authorized funding schedule.
