Committee recommends moving a district reserve into facilities account to secure state funding for high‑school ventilation project

Andrea Dish told the committee that the state approved a revolving renovation fund loan application for a high‑school ventilation/moisture‑barrier project estimated at $226,000. Under the state program, Dish said, the state would cover about 66.15% (~$149,000) and the district would be responsible for the roughly $76,638 remainder.

Dish proposed placing the district share into a dedicated facilities reserve drawn from unallocated fund balance so the project would not need to be financed across five years as a bond item on the next referendum. Doing so, she said, would preserve the state portion that otherwise could be lost if voters reject a bond in a difficult budget year.

"This may be our only opportunity to fix this issue where only it costs us $76,638," Dish said, urging the committee to indicate support to carry the recommendation to the full board. Several committee members expressed support; Andrea said she would propose moving funds into the facilities reserve at year‑end so the payment can be made when invoices are presented.

The committee agreed to take the idea to the full board; Dish emphasized that formal board approval is required to move funds into a reserve and that the referendum timeline remains the legal process for borrowing if the board chooses that path.

Next steps: administration will prepare a board recommendation to create or fund the facilities reserve with the district share so the ventilation project can proceed while retaining the state's ~66% contribution.