KLSD eyes $127 million in capital improvements

An overview provided by H2M Architects of district facilities, with building sizes and ages. PHOTO COURTESY KLSD

By JEFF MORRIS 

The Katonah-Lewisboro Board of Education has adopted a five-year capital improvement plan that could total $127 million in improvements.

The June 18 vote followed a presentation during which quite a few questions were asked of the architecture firm that prepared the plan, H2M Architects.

Accepting it did not mean actually authorizing any expenditures. The next step is for the district Finance Committee to pore over the full document for the years 2026-2031, and make recommendations about which portions to prioritize.

While they did not cite any imminent structure or system failures, the architects said the work is needed to prevent conditions from reaching a point where such failures will occur. 

What’s going where:

— John Jay High School has the largest square footage and is the largest investment in the plan at $48.7 million. Major work includes roofs, HVAC, labs that have not already been upgraded, and accessibility, with the focus on protecting core systems and modernizing spaces.

— John Jay Middle School would get a $38.4 million investment, with roof replacement and envelope repairs, as well as interior upgrades, increases in program flexibility, and HVAC improvements.

— Katonah Elementary School would get $11.1 million with a preventative maintenance focus; Meadow Pond Elementary School is slated for $12.2 million going toward windows, HVAC and classroom upgrades; and Increase Miller Elementary School is to get $10.7 million in similar improvements and upgrades. All of the elementary schools have the same goal of extending the life of the buildings and improving learning. 

Also included in the plan are a number of support facilities, among which are the bus garage in Katonah and the Operations & Maintenance building. 

Building conditions

Superintendent of Schools Ray Blanch said the purpose of the presentation was to review the state-required Building Condition Survey that had been submitted in March, and H2M’s recommendations for turning that survey into a plan for improvements to be made over the next five years.

The presentation was given by Michael Lantier, senior vice president at H2M. 

Lantier confirmed that the building condition survey is something that is required by the state every five years. He said the district’s facilities — with the exception of Lewisboro Elementary, which has not been maintained because it does not house any students — were well maintained and attributed any problems with them to age.

Conditions were categorized into four priority levels. Priority one was categorized as life safety items, and none of those were recorded, which Lantier said is “not the case in every school district” and that not having any Priority Ones was unusual.

The second priority level, Health & Property Protection, are items needed to maintain a functional environment, such as building weatherization. Priority level three includes aging systems and preventive maintenance, and priority level four are strategic enhancements. Lantier said those are items that don’t affect occupant health, but they “may help elevate your student experience.” How the district deals with the prioritization moving forward, he said, is ultimately based on the available funding. Overall, with the funding required for every item that they have on the list, they’re at about $127 million in project costs. 

Board members questioned why the cost level was that high, if the district maintains its facilities well. Lantier noted the aging infrastructure included high dollar value items with a specific life expectancy, such as roofs, weatherization, and HVAC equipment. He said that they were keeping an eye on items at the lower priority levels as well, seeing the need to be proactive and flexible in modernizing learning environments.

The total, said Lantier, represents having every wish list item taken care of, and bringing everything back to a pristine level. 

There were additional questions about when the priority lists were developed, as there seemed to be items that were part of the district’s current capital construction project. Lantier said “there is nothing that’s included in here that was also part of your previous capital plan,” and he would have to investigate specific items being questioned.

Another area about which board members were curious was the level of expenditures caused by having to follow the prevailing wage law for public projects, which results in costs that are 50% higher than what a homeowner might incur. Lantier explained the state requirements, and also pointed to a number of other expense areas that are included in the total, noting that over two to three years, costs are expected to escalate over 11%. The actual cost of the project will not become known, he said, until a public bid process has been completed.

The process

Because of a high turnover in board members in recent years, there were questions from trustees regarding the process to be followed in implementing a five-year plan, with Marjorie Schiff the only member who had been through it all before. 

The end result was the board’s vote to accept the recommendation for the capital improvement plan, without actually committing to spending any money. That fulfills their obligation under state education regulations. The plan now moves on to the Finance Committee, on which there are board representatives as well as community members, where it will be examined in detail and will be subject to public scrutiny.