Roofing, HVAC top capital list for Lexington City Schools

Published: Monday, January 26, 2015 at 4:22 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, January 26, 2015 at 4:22 p.m.

The Lexington City Board of Education is passing along a $17.5 million capital improvement plan to the Davidson County Board of Commissioners.

"We just want to be responsible and make sure we are taking care of the basic needs," said board chairman and at-large representative Scott Biesecker. "Our biggest need right now is roofing and HVAC. We don't want it to get to a point where it starts impacting students. We're not asking for anything extravagant. We just don't want anything disrupting the students."

Every year the board of education turns in a five-year plan to the commissioners on their needs. Board members reviewed the projects at their monthly meeting this past week.

The plan has three items that have been prioritized.

"It's like a wish list of what we think our capital expenditure needs might be," said Superintendent Rick Kriesky.

Kriesky emphasized that the projects are not new. At the top of the list is roof replacements at a cost of $4.8 million.

All six of the schools in the system except for Charles England Elementary are listed, along with the central office. The roof projects are also marked as a life safety issue. A good majority of the roofs date as far back as 1984 and 1985.

The second priority is $2.4 million for HVAC replacement chillers at South Lexington, Pickett Elementary, Lexington Middle and Lexington Senior High schools, as well as the air conditioning and furnace at the central office.

They were all labeled as a safety issue, too. The oldest one dates back to 1987, Kriesky said, as he applauded the maintenance staff for keeping the equipment working throughout the years.

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Roofing, HVAC top capital list for Lexington City Schools