Parish facilities staff outlines broad maintenance plan for Tangipahoa Parish schools; drainage review tabled

A parish facilities staff member told the Tangipahoa Parish capital outlay meeting that the parish is conducting a widespread program of restroom renovations, HVAC conversions and equipment servicing across school and public facilities, and that the board agreed to table a drainage CPR review after a member said they would be out for medical reasons.

The staff member said the parish has completed about 80% of the first round of restroom upgrades — including epoxy flooring, painting, fixture replacements and ADA compliance work — and will start a second round on the next set of sites as those projects finish. "We're doing this parishwide. We started with the worst restrooms first. We 'tre about 80% complete with round one and then we're going to start soon ... round two of the next to worst restrooms parishwide," the staff member said.

Why this matters: the maintenance work affects school operations and building safety at multiple sites and is intended to reduce equipment failures and humidity-related damage, which can disrupt classrooms and food-service operations.

In the briefing, the staff member said the parish is switching some older, problematic water-source HVAC systems to air-to-air units at several schools. At one middle school the conversion is roughly three-quarters complete; at Kentwood work was described as just starting with a projected three-to-four-week timetable. The staff member said DC Reeves has had persistent humidity problems in hallways; crews have installed air conditioning units to dehumidify two hallways, and the facility is being cleaned, resealed and otherwise repaired with an expected completion "by the end of the month." The same presenter reported parishwide preventive maintenance on freezers and coolers, including gasket replacement, to reduce breakdowns.

The staff member identified additional school sites slated for unit replacement — listed in the meeting as Punchula High School, Midway, Greenville Park and Independence Leadership — and said older or failing water-source units at those locations are being replaced to avoid AC failures.

On procedural business, a board member said Mr. Paige would be absent for a few weeks because of a scheduled procedure and recommended delaying the drainage CPR review until he can participate. "Motion to table," one member said; another seconded, and no objections were recorded, after which the chair moved the item to a future meeting. Members discussed whether to invite Andre, described in the meeting as the negotiator on that issue, to brief the board or whether staff would prepare the materials for the next meeting.

The chair adjourned the meeting after the brief business.

Notes on attribution: direct quotes and detailed project progress come from a parish facilities staff member who presented maintenance updates; the motion to table and seconding were recorded in the meeting without named movers in the transcript.