Lakeland board authorizes legal work on proposed plant-facility levy to pay for deferred maintenance
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Summary
District leaders were authorized to ask legal to draft ballot language for a proposed five-year plant facility levy that would raise about $3 million a year for deferred maintenance such as HVAC, electrical and roofs; the board asked for clearer building-level priorities and cost breakdowns before final approval.
Lakeland Joint School District leaders won board permission to ask legal to draft ballot language for a proposed plant facility levy that would raise roughly $3 million annually over five years to pay for deferred maintenance across district buildings.
Assistant Superintendent Jake Massey and Chief Finance Officer Jessica Gerensen presented a list of prioritized projects the district would fund if voters approve the levy, saying the money would be limited to capital items and deferred-maintenance work and could not be used for salaries. Gerensen told trustees the district’s school modernization funds are nearly committed and that “without a dedicated revenue stream, we are never going to get anywhere,” arguing the levy is intended to create a predictable funding source for systems such as HVAC, electrical, windows and roofing.
Trustees probed the scope and timing of work and asked staff to provide building-level priority lists and clearer cost estimates. Gerensen and facilities staff said some urgent projects — including electrical and HVAC work and exterior doors at several schools, plus planned parking work at John Brown Elementary — are slated for this summer using modernization funds, but those funds are limited and will not cover the full backlog of needs. Staff estimated the proposed levy would equal about $30.24 per $100,000 of assessed value (approximately $90.73 annually for a $300,000 assessed home, before exemptions), and said they could run additional homeowner-impact worksheets for public materials.
The board voted to authorize district leadership to consult legal and draft a resolution and ballot language to meet county deadlines for a May election; the motion carried on a voice vote. Trustees emphasized they want a public education plan explaining exactly which projects the levy would finance and requested a separate, itemized priority spreadsheet from each school so voters can see where funds would be spent.
The next step is for district staff and legal counsel to prepare formal ballot language and a final project list for board review at an upcoming meeting ahead of the county’s March deadline for May-ballot placement.