Upcoming NCSD projects: Track resurfacing, tuckpointing, parking lot replacements due for FY22

Newton Community School District’s capital improvement plan (CIP) for fiscal year 2022 will use categorial funding sources to pay for various equipment, classroom technology, software licenses, tuckpointing at select buildings, roof repairs and a track resurfacing project estimated to cost $400,000.

At the Monday, March 22 school board meeting, NCSD Director of Business Services Tim Bloom provided elected officials with a detailed CIP for both the Secured an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) and Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) funds.

The SAVE CIP is scheduled 10 years in advance and is used solely for school infrastructure needs or school district property tax relief. School infrastructure relates to construction, reconstruction, repair, demolitions or the purchasing or remodeling of schoolhouses, stadiums, gyms, bus garages, etc.

For FY22, Emerson Hough Elementary School and Newton High School are estimated to spend $100,000 and $150,000, respectively, for tuckpointing; both buildings have also been allocated $250,000 for roof repairs. The high school also included $225,000 for chillers.

Thomas Jefferson Elementary School has $200,000 in SAVE funds to be used for a boiler in FY22; the following fiscal year includes $250,000 for a chiller. Woodrow Wilson Elementary School allocated $200,000 for HVAC and $30,000 for the kitchen parking lot. The school’s largest expenses will start in FY24-FY25.

The school district has scheduled two $4 million demolitions of Woodrow Wilson’s north wing to replace the south wing/gym. The project is split among two fiscal years and is expected to cost $8 million altogether for FY24-FY25.

School district documents indicate the SAVE fund balance would be at a deficit in FY25 because of this project at Woodrow Wilson. Bloom said a future update from FRK Architects + Engineers would determine the feasibility of this costly project; however, the district does have other options.

“An option would be to borrow funds to do that from our revenue bonds going forward, because we’ll have revenue through 2051,” Bloom said. “We’ll have to figure that out when we get there. And we’ll see what the plan is from FRK.”

Athletics and activities have $25,000 for instruments and $30,000 for concrete at the H.A. Lynn Stadium in FY22. The largest expense is the $400,000 track resurfacing project, which Bloom said he was unsure if it would be a replacement. It has been eight years since the track was resurfaced.

Meanwhile, Aurora Heights Elementary School has scheduled $30,000 for a kitchen parking lot project in FY22; the following year, the district planned a $75,000 HVAC/chiller project. About $100,000 will be made available for maintenance and a total of about $770,000 for technology purposes.

Bloom said the district is currently collecting bids for the two parking lot projects at Aurora Heights and Woodrow Wilson to “hopefully be done over the summer.”

The Newton school district’s PPEL five-year plan has been scheduled for FY22 through FY26. Bloom said a majority of these funds are set aside for building and repair and maintenance items, which align with what the Iowa Department of Education says the levy can be used for.

PPEL funds can also be used to pay for the construction of schoolhouse or buildings and opening roads to schoolhouses or buildings. Equipment or technology exceeding $500 per transaction can either be purchased, leased or lease-purchased with PPEL.

Debts other than bond interests accrued from scheduled constructions of school buildings can also be paid using PPEL. Repairs, remodels, reconstructions, improvements and expansions all fall under PPEL, as do expenditures for energy conservation, transportation equipment purchases and more.

Every elementary school in Newton will be provided $7,000 for capital equipment for FY22-FY26. WEST Academy, the smallest of all seven campuses, will have $4,000 for capital equipment during that same time frame. The middle school and high school will receive $25,000 and $55,000 in FY22, respectively.

More money for capital equipment will be allocated to Berg Middle School starting in FY24.

Across the district, $50,000 will be allocated to carpet/tile replacement; $50,000 for concrete/asphalt repair; $50,000 for roof maintenance; $42,167 for copier leases with Forbes; $25,000 for LED/energy efficiencies; and $20,000 for gym floor resurfacing. These are annually scheduled from FY22-26.

Newton has allocated $25,000 every year to grounds equipment for the maintenance department through FY26. The transportation department has $100,000 to spend on two new suburbans in FY22, FY24 and FY26 and another $25,000 for equipment, which is allocated every subsequent fiscal year.

In FY23 and FY25, the Newton school district plans to use $225,000 of its PPEL funds each fiscal year to pay for two new buses. By FY25, the district will have four new buses added to its fleet, approximately costing $550,000 in PPEL funds altogether. H.A. Lynn Stadium is given $10,000 each fiscal year through FY26.

Technology gets the bulk of Newton’s PPEL funds, most of which pay for the software licenses. From FY22-FY23, about $275,000 of PPEL funds will go toward software licensing and increases to $280,000 in FY24; the software licensing will increase by $10,000 every fiscal year after that.

Bloom estimated Newton’s PPEL balance at the end of FY21 will be $421,944.

“We’re estimating that fund balance to grow over time to make a comfortable reserve,” Bloom said. “We do have a master plan that’s being crafted now that we’re working with FRK, so these are subject to change this capital improvement plan based on what is identified in that plan.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com