Poudre School District outlines multi‑year plan to add air conditioning, reports summer construction progress

Poudre School District R‑1 officials told the Board of Education on Aug. 26 that work to install air conditioning across district schools has begun thanks to the 2024 voter‑approved mill levy override, but the full program will take several years and careful phasing.

Superintendent Kelly Kingsley said the levy approved in November 2024 provides funding “to do this work,” and facilities staff reported HVAC, roofing, fire‑alarm and other projects completed over the summer and the start of designs for larger retrofits. Chief Financial Officer Dave Montoya and facilities staff described Beatty and O’Day elementary schools as the first completed cooling installations this summer and said portable cooling units and other mitigation measures were deployed while larger projects move through design and procurement.

The district emphasized a phased approach. Facilities staff said elementary schools were more feasible to retrofit in short summer windows, while larger schools such as middle schools need multi‑year, phased projects. Weber and Lesher middle schools were identified as next in line for design and possible design‑build procurement; district staff said…