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Parent and board press for athletic facilities fixes as operations detail costly roof, chiller and bus needs
Summary
A parent urged the board to repair Staffords athletic facilities after a failed bond; operations staff outlined deferred-maintenance priorities including middle-school and fieldhouse roofs, a damaged gym floor (estimate ~$154,000), ECC and central chillers (replacement costs in the hundreds of thousands), and replacement buses (~$165,000 each).
A parent and district staff used the Jan. 12 Stafford Municipal School Board meeting to press for near-term fixes to athletic and campus facilities and to map funding paths for larger repairs.
Denisha Upe, who identified herself as treasurer of the Stafford Athletic Parent Organization and a booster parent, told trustees the failed bond left unresolved needs for athletic infrastructure. She called attention to a damaged baseball scoreboard and windscreen—items the district needs before spring sports—and urged the board to explore funding alternatives outside a bond and to consider earmarking rental revenue or other local sources to preserve facilities. "I'm standing here as someone who is willing ... putting skin in the game as far as my time and donating money to the program," Denisha Upe said.
Staff then presented a broader facilities and transportation update. Director of Operations Greg Jorgens outlined deferred-maintenance priorities: middle-school roof leaks that have penetrated interior spaces, a middle-school gym floor that was judged unfit for UIL events (the athletic department provided an estimate of about $154,000 to replace it), HVAC needs including a rooftop IT data-center unit (quoted in the presentation as about $19,000), and an ECC chiller with a quick-fix estimate of about $45,000 but full replacement costs "north of $300,000." Jorgens also described central-plant work (refurbishment and rental-chiller costs totaling roughly $234,000) and said two chillers are effectively inoperable.
Jorgens said the transportation fleet is fully staffed, but several buses—roughly eight out of 25 on routes—lack working air conditioning; the district requested at least two additional A/C-equipped buses (each estimated at $165,000) and one extra smaller vehicle for shuttle/white-fleet needs. CFO Lauzon told the board the district has maintenance-note funds of about $1,700,000 and has received approximately $700,000 from insurance; he and staff said FEMA reimbursement is expected on several eligible projects and preliminarily estimated FEMAs share at about $1.14 million of a $1.5 million total for approved projects.
Trustees asked for a comprehensive, prioritized list of deferred projects with safety and operational criteria and a one-page summary of outstanding costs for future meetings. Trustee Hanehosa emphasized accountability and procurement follow-up; district legal counsel said filing an insurance claim does not eliminate potential warranty or contractor claims but suggested some matters may require closed-session legal review. The board set a special-called meeting to take up specific projects and next steps.
