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CCPS lays out capital project progress, major-maintenance shortfall and a plan to pace bus replacements
Summary
Superintendent-level staff reported construction progress on replacement and new schools, said facility-condition work has identified hundreds of millions in needed maintenance, and proposed a bus replacement program that aims for ~45 buses per year using a mix of cash and financing.
Dr. Watka (capital and facilities lead) updated the board on multiple construction projects and the district's long-term maintenance needs and fleet replacement plans.
Construction status: Benley Elementary and Deep Creek Elementary are on budget and on schedule for early- to mid-2026 openings; the western-area high school has a substantial completion target in mid-2027. Watka said the CTC Hull renovation is being bid with a current cost estimate just over $14 million and that funds identified from project savings and year-end balances are being proposed to keep the renovation on schedule.
Major maintenance and condition assessment: Watka reviewed two approaches to setting major-maintenance targets: a percent-of-current-replacement-value (CRV) method and a facility-condition assessment. CCPS's CRV is about $3.5 billion; using a 2.5% target implies annual major-maintenance investment near $85 million. The district currently budgets about $9 million for major maintenance from operations, and preliminary condition assessments have identified roughly $230 million of HVAC needs, $76 million in roof work and $20 million in electrical upgrades across the portfolio.
Bus replacement: Watka described a long-term plan to replace about 45 school buses annually (600-bus fleet) using a mix of cash and county financing. The plan envisions financing buses for 10 years while keeping vehicles in service up to 15 years (12 years front-line, then training/spare use). To support financing, the school division would appropriate an additional roughly $500,000 a year for debt service for the first decade.
Why it matters: the capital pipeline and deferred-maintenance picture drive future borrowing and operating commitments; staff emphasized pairing financial plans with realistic construction and maintenance phasing.
Ending: staff will present more-detailed facility-condition data and a financial plan for major maintenance during FY28 budget development.
