Wayzata board approves 10-year facilities plan, plans to front-load projects with bond work

The Wayzata Public Schools Board on July 13 approved the district's FY2028 10-year Long-Term Facilities Maintenance plan and authorized the superintendent to submit required documents to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Executive Director of Finance and Operations Trevor Peterson told the board that the LTFM program under Minnesota statute requires districts to project 10 years of facility projects and submit detailed UFARS-coded revenue and expenditure spreadsheets by July 31. "If you do not, you will not receive any revenue," Peterson said, stressing the submission deadline and legal compliance steps.

Peterson said the district historically budgets about $15 million a year for LTFM projects ("about $150 million over 10 years") but that the passage of a recent bond referendum means the district has identified roughly $89 million of LTFM-eligible work that can be front-loaded into the first four years to take advantage of concurrent construction. "In order to fund the upfront costs, we are going to bond," he said, adding that the approach is intended to avoid an immediate taxpayer impact at truth-in-taxation.

Board members pressed several implementation points. Peterson explained that LTFM is a restricted state revenue stream and "cannot be used for teacher salaries," and he described efforts to separate LTFM work from bond-funded projects and to establish project-tracking mechanisms. He also confirmed that cooperative/intermediate district (ISD 287) LTFM obligations are prorated into Wayzata's plan — Peterson cited an estimated $171,000 this year for that cooperative obligation.

Facilities staff answered technical questions about project scope and eligibility. On single-use restrooms, facilities staff said every district building already has a single-use restroom and that the district is updating standards (moving from partitions to more structural walls). On Central Middle School roofing, staff said they would assess structural capacity before considering rooftop solar; they noted that energy-conservation measures are evaluated when roofs are replaced, but installing solar would depend on the roof and structural readiness.

The board voted by roll call to adopt the LTFM plan; the motion carried with one member absent. Peterson said the approved plan, board resolution and the superintendent's statement of assurances will be submitted to MDE by the July 31 deadline.

The board's action sets the district's facilities priorities and creates a fiscal strategy to align LTFM and bond work while maintaining required accounting and program restrictions.