After spending seemingly eternity in a dark financial spot, the Roaring Fork School District is finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The school board turned a corner by approving a supplemental budget in late January, and are now able to focus on broader and less tangible budget concerns. 

During Wednesday’s work session, Chief Operating Officer Ben Bohmfalk and Director of Facilities and Maintenance Eric Willis presented how the facility needs fit into the financial plans of the next five years. Willis and Bohmfalk brought forward a presentation that was primarily focused on exterior enclosures and site infrastructure. 

The school district typically allocates about $2.5 million for capital improvements and facility maintenance. However, with construction costs steadily increasing, that $2.5 million now covers only one or two summer renovation projects.

During Wednesday’s presentation Bohmfalk acknowledged the scope, but stressed how this was a preliminary conversation. 

“They’re big numbers, but those are some of the things that we’re really prioritizing,” Bohmfalk said during the work session.

With assistance from the state assessors office and in partnership with Gordian, a company that provides software and data for facilities and construction costs, RFSD got an assessment of all of their facilities and how desperate the renovations are needed. Gordian assessed 17 school district buildings, 12 of which were schools. The Gordian assessment provided the school district with a Facility Condition Index (FCI) which stated that the majority of facilities are still in fair condition.

“I’m relieved to see that our FCI is mentioned in this fair category,” Bohmfalk said. “Some districts do this, and they realize that they’ve waited way too long. That’s what we want to avoid by doing preventative maintenance.”

After assessing the district’s needs, Willis and Bohmfalk are focused on bringing consistent temperatures to every school. Basalt Elementary School, Basalt Middle School, and Bridges High School are three schools that were singled out for their more dire temperature concerns. 

“We know and we hear from staff and students that you can’t learn and teach in an environment when you’re stifling hot or freezing cold,” Bohmfalk said, “We want to stay ahead of all that so we’re not in reactive mode.”

In some cases, new HVAC units weren’t necessary, but instead the ability to reliably control those systems. According to Bohmfalk, adding new air conditioning to a school can take up to $1 million out of the capital fund, and adding new controls for the existing systems can cost anywhere from $150,000-$400,000. 

According to the presentation, Basalt Middle School and Bridges High School are set to receive overhauled air conditioning systems when they return from summer break. To go along with strategic project development to keep the school district within $2.5 million per year, the district wants to cause the least amount of disruption to staff and students with construction projects. 

“Our current proposal is that we get two of those (Basalt Middle School, Basalt Elementary School, and Bridges High School) done this summer,” Bohmfalk said. “Eric identified Basalt Middle and Bridges because of the existing systems in place. We can do it relatively quickly. We’ve got quotes on those. We’ve got engineers working on permits, we’re going to put down payments on those and move forward with those.”

Other summer projects set to take place over the summer include carpet installation at Carbondale High School and copier replacements throughout the district. 

The school district is taking a conservative and strategic approach to their five-year plans. After finally digging out of a self-inflicted hole, the last thing that RFSD would want is to fall back in that same hole. 

The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at the Carbondale District Office, 400 Sopris Ave.