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Facilities update: Ninth Ward stadium moves toward construction; multiple HVAC, roof and safety projects advance
Summary
Facilities staff told the Orleans Parish School Board Property Committee that the Ninth Ward stadium is entering construction pending city approval and listed multiple HVAC, roof and other school projects moving through design, bids and construction phases; some project budgets were adjusted.
Facilities staff updated the committee on capital projects and readiness work across the district, reporting progress on school repairs and replacements and announcing changes to several project budgets and timelines.
Don Leaf, presenting the June capital and facilities highlights, said some projects are moving into construction while others remain in design or bidding. He noted that the Ninth Ward stadium project has moved toward construction pending final city approvals, and that several rooftop unit replacements, chiller and mechanical projects are progressing across multiple schools.
Key project notes: staff cited sidewalk repairs at Lawless High School and cottage renovations at Harriet Tubman; a backflow/pre-treatment installation is in design; a compressor replacement at one site was completed; rooftop HVAC replacement work was moved into design for several locations. Leaf named multiple schools with phase changes and several budget adjustments tied to scope and condition changes. He told the committee that some budget figures were adjusted as projects moved from preliminary estimates into design, though a number reported in the verbal update were fragmented in the transcript and staff said they will provide a written update with exact figures.
Program status by fiscal year: staff reported most FY23 projects are complete with one remaining at Ben Franklin High School, FY24 includes projects in design, construction and completed items, FY25 and FY26 projects are spread across design, bidding and construction, and FY27 lists phase one and two projects to be addressed in future planning.
Hurricane season preparedness: staff also reviewed hurricane-season training changes for school operations, announcing a differentiated approach: experienced school-based staff can validate readiness via a new online assessment with an 80% proficiency threshold while newer staff will receive in-person training; the annual operations seminar is scheduled for July 21.
Next steps: staff said a written board update will provide the full list of projects, clear budget changes and expected completion dates; the committee took the update as informational and did not vote on capital items at this meeting.
