VCSC starts planning for infrastructure work at high schools

Dec. 15—A facilities referendum may have failed, but Vigo County high schools have infrastructure needs that must be addressed.

On Tuesday, John Newport, VCSC chief operating officer over facilities, updated the bond steering committee on the status of those efforts.

"We want to put out a request for proposals for a complete review and study of HVAC [heating, ventilation, air conditioning] and plumbing systems at North, South and West Vigo [middle/high schools]," he said.

Instead of putting out an RFP for architects only, "We'd like for architects and builders to team together ... where they are going to come up with a unique, out-of-the-box proposal on how we look at HVAC and plumbing."

Interested parties would have about two months to develop those proposals and make recommendations on how to address issues within the available budget.

As proposed, the district would use $18 million in ESSER funding for HVAC and $5 million from a general obligation bond for plumbing.

The district is expected to issue the request for proposals within a few weeks.

HVAC and plumbing are receiving priority because the ESSER dollars can be used for HVAC work. Since ceilings will be open for that work, "That's a good time to run your water lines, too," Newport said in an interview.

The $18 million in ESSER is budgeted, said Donna Wilson, chief financial officer, but the district would still have to go through a formal approval process with the state once plans for use of those ESSER funds are finalized.

There are rigorous rules and regulations for using ESSER funds, she said. The state "allowed us to budget the money."

Right now, unless there is an extension, the deadline for using the ESSER funds is the end of 2024, Newport said.

Initially, the district is looking for a study and recommendations. "We're looking for that proposal to drive what those next steps would be," he said.

It might recommend hiring out to another company to do the facility work, or it might include a design-build component.

The bond steering committee's role would be to evaluate presentations from providers and narrow the list to two to five for subsequent presentations to the board. The school board, along with bond steering committee, would then hear in-depth presentations from the narrowed field.

Any final decisions on how to proceed would be up to the School Board, which will have four new members in January. The district also will have an interim superintendent as it searches for a new superintendent.

Current Superintendent Rob Haworth's retirement from public schools takes effect Jan. 2.

The infrastructure must be addressed, Newport said.

As part of the referendum process, the district has had much feedback from various groups, including students. "One of the things loud and clear to me was students saying the bathrooms don't work and don't smell nice," he told the bond steering committee.

The buildings are more than 50 years old and plumbing issues continue to worsen.

The district was awaiting the outcome of the facilities referendum to see if taxpayers would approve new construction, and by doing so, it was "being a good steward of taxpayer dollars," he said.

With the defeat of the referendum, those heating and cooling and plumbing issues must move forward.

"We would go ahead and take that free federal money and upgrade HVAC without impacting tax rates and without impacting operation funds," Newport said.

ESSER can't be used for plumbing affecting domestic water, such as for as drinking, food preparation, washing hands, flushing toilets, etc., he said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue