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Facilities director reports project delays, budget adjustment and deadlines for FY26–27 work
Summary
District facilities staff told the property committee that multiple capital projects have been paused or moved through predesign/design/construction phases, an HVAC budget was reduced by $1.1 million, surplus auctions returned about $7,000, and document-submission deadlines and training dates were revised ahead of the summer work plan.
Don LaDuff, presenting the April capital-projects and facilities update, told the Owens Parish property committee that several projects have been moved between predesign, design, bids/awards, and construction phases because of consolidation and occupancy timing.
He said projects for Frederick Douglass and Sylvanie Williams were moved to hold because of consolidation work tied to charter moves; William Fisher interior improvements were paused pending occupancy; and several other projects were advanced to in-design or construction. LaDuff said the district separated planned summer work into phase 1 (before hurricane season) and phase 2 (after hurricane season) to limit weather-related disruptions.
LaDuff reported an HVAC project budget reduction of $1,100,000, lowering the project budget to $3,890,278.56, and noted that Mahalia Jackson’s chiller placement has been paused pending funding. He said districtwide inventory management is at 100% compliance with annual requirements, and surplus assets auctioned through GovDeals returned about $7,000 to the district.
He reviewed updates to the FY26–27 facilities handbook designed to standardize documentation and strengthen compliance; the memo clarified this would not add maintenance work but would require more consistent paperwork. LaDuff also revised the facilities-document timeline: tool distribution would be April 28, training/refresher sessions moved to May 13 and May 15, and most schools’ submission folders would be due July 1 (transitioning schools given until August 1).
During Q&A, a board member raised concerns about litter and perimeter conditions near a school. LaDuff suggested contacting Councilman Freddie King and noted that any student-service cleanup would require coordination with Public Works and Parks & Parkways.
What’s next: LaDuff said six properties were sold during surplus sales and six would return during transition and optimization; the public vacant/surplus-property list will be updated on June 30. Several projects will proceed based on funding and completion timelines; the committee took no binding votes on capital allocations at this meeting.
