Franklin schools plans to spend close to $4 million on improvements to its HVAC systems, IT projects and various other repairs, replacements and improvements.
If approved during the district’s Oct. 18 board meeting, Franklin schools will pay for the projects using $3.9 million in general obligation bonds. Homeowners won’t see any property tax increases.
More than half of the money — about $2 million — will go toward HVAC improvements at all buildings.
School officials prioritized HVAC projects due to a facility study by Lancer + Beebe, Indianapolis-based architecture and design firm, and evaluations by an HVAC engineering company, said Jeff Sewell, the district’s operations director.
“A lot of (equipment) is towards the end or beyond its expected service life. It becomes more and more difficult to keep it running reliably,” Sewell said.
Franklin schools will spend $600,000 to repair and replace public address systems districtwide. It will spend $490,000 on turf replacement at the Franklin Community High School football field. And it will spend $70,000 to repair and replace exterior doors at Creekside, Northwood and Webb elementary schools, according to district documents.
Of the remaining money, $500,000 will fund IT projects, $125,000 will pay for whiteboards at the district’s elementary schools and $100,000 will go toward fuel tank repairs and maintenance of buses. The final $32,000 will be split evenly between walking path repairs and maintenance at the high school, and pool light repairs and maintenance at Franklin Community Middle School, documents show.
The Lancer + Beebe study produced a list of items that should be funded by looking at a number of factors, including code compliance, life cycle and return on investment, Sewell said.
If approved, Franklin schools will have three years to spend the money. That period will likely begin at the end of the year or beginning of next year, he said.
Though the district has $4.8 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to work with, that money will go to teacher and personnel salaries as well as educational equipment.
