Pomona school board updated on modernization plans
POMONA - About six weeks after Pomona Unified School District
voters approved Measure PS, school board members were informed this
week that work on some projects could begin in the summer.
The district is working on identifying "quick start projects," that
can be carried out without and approval from the Division of the
State Architect, said Scott Stark, the district's director of capital
facilities at Tuesday night's board meeting.
Such projects are "not complex, easy to put together and no
engineering is required," Stark said Wednesday.
These projects will improve the appearance of facilities and include
work such as exterior paint jobs, repairing broken sidewalks,
replacing deteriorated fencing and landscaping work, he said.
At the same time the district is reviewing a series of more complex
projects, still requiring state review, but that are already in
development and could be started next year.
"They qualify for state funding and they are at various levels of
approval with the state architect," Stark said.
Among those projects is the installation of an air conditioning
system at Lincoln Elementary School, the only campus in the district
without it, he said.
"We are pushing hard, very hard for that one," Stark said. "That
project is our highest priority."
While that takes place, the district will also be working on more
complex projects.
Work will include developing a program management plan and
determining building specifications required to meet the needs of
various academic programs such as schools within schools or grade
reconfigurations, he said.
A hurdle the district could soon be facing is the ability to sell the
bonds that will produce the revenue for the construction work.
District administrators told the board the current economic
environment may make it difficult to sell the bonds and could result
in extending construction to 10 to 12 years instead of eight to 10.
The bonds have no expiration on them, said Pam Lopez, district
assistant superintendent of business services and chief financial
officer.
If the bonds can't be sold then "we can push the time and put them
out at a later time or in small amounts," Lopez said Wednesday.
For now the district is keeping a close eye on various factors
including interest rates as well as what is happening at the state
and federal government levels which could influence the sale of the
bond, she said.
Maria Elena Romero, a consultant working with the school district,
reminded the board Tuesday night that they must keep in mind things
can change, influenced by things such as the increase in material
costs, increases and drops and enrollment, changes in regulations and
other factors.
Leave a comment