Buildings and grounds director outlines completed projects, utilities pressure and 2.16% budget increase

Andre Rudiak, director of buildings and grounds, presented the department’s 2026–27 budget and highlighted capital work completed during the 2025–26 year and proposed maintenance for the coming year.

Rudiak said the department currently has 79 positions and reviewed recent projects: high‑school library upgrades, new lockers and rubber stair treads, new scoreboards and boilers; middle‑school paving and gym work; new playgrounds, security vestibules and smoke‑detector upgrades at multiple elementary schools; and upgrades to mechanical/building‑management systems districtwide. He said the capital project begun in May 2025 is expected to be ready for moving in by June 2026.

He flagged utility costs as a significant pressure — an estimated 8.14% increase (about $262,503) — and said maintenance and preventive contracts (including seven new boilers) contribute to a roughly 3.69% rise in certain maintenance codes. Rudiak proposed a 2026–27 departmental budget of $6,960,272, a 2.16% increase from the prior year, and said the department’s goal is to preserve facility condition and complete the capital‑project phases due to ramp up this summer.

Board members had opportunity to ask questions but raised no motions during the presentation; Rudiak offered to share project reports and studies offline.