Schools down to last $175 million

By Emily Richmond

Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 | 1:16 a.m.

Boulder City's Garrett Junior High School needed a new gym floor.

But first the leaky roof above it had to be fixed.

The Clark County School District has to decide how to spend the $175 million remaining in the 1998 construction bond fund for repairs, updates and modernization of existing buildings. Jamey Hood, Garrett's principal, said the roof has been fixed and work on new bleachers and lights has begun. Now she hopes her school's floor makes the priority list in the next round of allocations, which are being decided this month.

Since 1998, the Clark County School District has spent nearly $5 billion constructing new schools and replacing and repairing old ones.

The next bond campaign is on the horizon and the district will likely seek $9.5 billion for future construction projects, with nearly $4.4 billion of the money for modernization projects and replacing run-down schools.

But first the district must decide how it will spend the last of the old bond money. (Aside from the $175 million that has yet to be distributed, $117 million for repair work has already been set aside.)

Paul Gerner, associate superintendent of facilities, said the nearly $300 million is expected to last the district until June 2010. That's when the next round of school construction funding for these types of projects would become available, provided voters approve the new bond measure next year.

To win future voter support, the district must demonstrate that the current funds are being well spent. The district has boasted a top-notch bond rating for several years and won praise from local watchdog groups for its management of the construction program.

But a key voting bloc is composed of parents who want to know why their child's school has shoddy playgrounds, dingy walls or a substandard cafeteria. That's where the modernization, repairs and renovations come into play.

The list of campuses waiting for repairs stretches 36 pages. Gerner said the projects are being prioritized based on a combination of "needs and logical sequence." For example, it was obvious that the leaky roof had to be fixed before the gym floor could be replaced at Garrett Junior High.

The district also takes "equity" into account, making sure older campuses have bells and whistles comparable to the newer schools'. That has long been a priority for parents in urban neighborhoods whose children typically attend the district's most aged schools.

The list ranges from the modest ($2,234 to install office windows at Biltmore Continuation School) to the massive ($7.8 million to replace the heating and cooling systems at K.O. Knudson Elementary School).

In fact, the facilities division is recommending replacing heating and cooling systems at more than 30 schools, with the costs averaging about $3 million per campus. Some of the systems are so outdated that the manufacturers no longer make replacement parts for them, which can mean long delays on repairs. Additionally, the newer systems can be controlled by the district's central command center, which improves conservation and saves millions of dollars annually in utility costs.

Considering some of these costs, $136,670 might seem like a solid, modest investment for a gym floor. That is what Hood at Garrett is counting on.

"We hope when they sit down and make the list we'll be on it."