Board hears data-driven capital plan as district flags $9.5M replacement year and prioritizes fire alarm work

Ryan Walker, the district's director of operations, told the board the district is using a recent HPM facilities assessment and a capital-planning tool to prioritize long-term maintenance and capital work funded by the permanent-improvement (PI) levy.

Walker said the firm's asset inventory validated earlier work and produced a prioritized list of end-of-life systems. He pointed to an example in the tool: a potential fiscal-year replacement load that totals about $9.5 million in one projected year, a figure the district cannot cover from PI revenue alone. He said maintenance can "chase down" some replacements and defer others, but that inflation in buses and construction costs is compounding the gap between projected needs and available funds.

"What we're doing with permanent improvement is trying to manage risk intentionally and not react to systems failures," Walker said. He described the process: start with conditions data, gather building-level requests, identify end-of-life indicators, then evaluate feasibility and timing to build a fiscal-year capital agenda.

Board members asked whether general-fund dollars could be shifted to cover PI items and whether outside third-party assessments will be repeated; Todd Johnson, the treasurer, said general-fund spending could be used but that a potential bond issue would be a more practical 'reset' to address multiple simultaneous high-cost needs.

That capital context preceded a formal vote later in the meeting: the board approved phase 1 of Marysville High School's fire-panel replacement, a portion of a multi-year, phased project. Dr. Howard noted the high school's system was a top priority in the HPM assessment and that a phased approach helps avoid extended fire-watch requirements while keeping disruption to a minimum.