Board weighs carving out training, hours as Siemens HVAC renewal looms
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Summary
At an April 8 work session, the High County Board of Education reviewed its Siemens HVAC and controls agreement, debating whether to keep bundled training and bucketed service hours or shift to on‑demand purchases and competitive bids to reduce costs ahead of a contract renewal that runs through 2034.
Chair (S1) opened an April 8 High County Board of Education work session by steering discussion toward the district’s Siemens HVAC and building‑automation agreements and asking staff to brief the board on contract specifics.
“Before we jump into that information, on our end, we’re very pleased with the work that they do for us,” Dr. Miller (S4) said, noting Siemens’ responsiveness and the district’s long relationship with the contractor.
Staff member (S7), who provided the board’s one‑page contract breakdown, walked members through core line items: multi‑level Desigo software subscriptions, annual automation and panel updates, mechanical preventive maintenance and a bucket of customer‑directed hours used for on‑site repairs. S7 said training had been folded into a three‑year contract but could be removed and purchased on an as‑needed basis to reduce upfront cost.
A key question for the board was whether the district benefits from buying bucketed hours at a preferred rate or should pay for labor as issues arise. Chair (S1) framed that choice as fiduciary: “We have nothing to compare it to… part of this is discharging our fiduciary duty to the community,” the Chair said, urging the board to test alternatives that could free funds for staff raises.
Board members and staff described how the contract’s repair‑and‑replace feature has covered high‑cost items in the past, including compressors and major chiller components. Staff (S3) gave Madison Elementary as an example where Siemens replaced dual motors and the work was fully covered under the agreement.
S7 noted a significant recurring line item for automation subscriptions that the board flagged for scrutiny: “So that $168,707 is them just checking on the panels and things like that,” a committee member (S6) summarized while asking whether updates could be reduced through parameter changes to lower costs.
Several board members recommended negotiating with CMTA (the controls authoring firm) and Siemens about trending intervals and software‑update frequency to reduce data‑storage burdens and subscription costs. S7 warned that CMTA wrote the control sequences Siemens implements, so changing vendors could require reworking programming and risk operations unless carefully piloted.
The group agreed on three staff follow‑ups: (1) ask Siemens whether training can be shifted to on‑demand delivery; (2) explore giving Siemens preferred hourly rates without bucketed hours; and (3) convene CMTA, Siemens and district staff to review parameters and potential contract amendments. S6 summarized those action items for the board.
The board also scheduled a non‑decision campus visit with Northern this week to compare building‑automation training modules and assess whether local students could benefit from aligned course offerings, a potential pathway S5 said would be “beneficial to them in the long run.”
Next steps: staff will collect contract line‑item detail, confirm what is included under current pricing and report back with cost comparisons and negotiation options before the district moves toward any renewal.
