Coeur d'Alene School District completes $3.5M in summer projects

COEUR d'ALENE — Grounds and maintenance teams kept busy over the summer completing about $3.5 million in projects across the Coeur d'Alene School District.

"We do have a pretty big deferred maintenance backlog," Seth Deniston, deputy superintendent of operations for the school district, said Tuesday.

All schools received upgrades to their security cameras, many of which were last addressed with 2013 bond funding.

"Our camera project that we did touched every single school in the district," Deniston said. "That was probably the biggest project we did this summer."

About 800 cameras and accompanying software were replaced and upgraded. This was paid for with $750,000 in federal funds, $200,000 in district funds and $42,000 local grant funds from the Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management. 

The Securing our Future grant from the state of Idaho paid for $350,000 in fencing upgrades at several elementary and two middle schools. Fences were increased to 6 feet tall, barbed tops were removed and green privacy screening was added to certain public-facing areas.

The district also completed upgrading secure entrances at Dalton and Ramsey elementary schools to create secure vestibules with ballistic protection. This was a continuation of a summer 2023 project when four other elementary school entrances were remodeled for security purposes. These upgrades cost $925,000 in federal funds, with a savings of $140,000.

In March 2023, the district failed to garner enough support for a five-year, $5 million-per-year school plant facilities levy following an earlier failed attempt in August 2022 for a 10-year, $8 million-per-year plant facilities levy. Plant facilities levy funds generally cover building maintenance, repairs and upgrades, which are ongoing needs in a district with schools that are on average at least 30 years old.

"But fortunately, we had some one-time federal funds that were expiring," Deniston said. "They paid for the majority of these projects. We were able to take care of some of the highest needs, including some (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) needs at Fernan."

Fernan STEM Academy was among several local buildings that suffered damage during a fierce cold spell in January that froze and burst pipes throughout the region. A wing of the school had to close because of the weather-related damage.

Deniston said roof work was also done at Fernan over the summer.

"We were removing HVAC units anyway," he said.

A total of 27 units were replaced at Fernan, Bryan, Dalton, Hayden Meadows and Sorensen elementary schools as well as Venture Academy and Coeur d'Alene High School. Aging boilers were replaced at Canfield Middle School. Along with Fernan, portions of roofs were also replaced at Coeur d'Alene High and Hayden Meadows with emergency roof repairs made at Winton Elementary.

HVAC and roofing work was paid for with $830,000 of federal funds. 

Carpets were installed or replaced at several schools. Deniston, who presented Monday evening to the Coeur d'Alene School Board, reported that Lake City High got a great deal on a gym floor resurface using building funds and Coeur d'Alene High's booster club helped update the auditorium flooring.

Early Learning Center staff moved into the old Borah Elementary with the help of district maintenance teams, who also helped relocate Borah teachers to their new schools.

Maintenance staff also swapped the dust collector at Coeur d'Alene High with one no longer used at Venture and did the same with trash compactors from Borah to Sorensen.

These projects were conducted with $75,000 of district funds and $50,000 in donations. The equipment swapping saved the district $40,000.

"We do that kind of stuff all the time," Deniston said. "Where we have things that make sense like that, we do that to maximize the useful life of our equipment and the funding we receive."

Grounds crews kept lawns mowed and maintained, even on the hottest days, and assisted with the Lake City High Booster Club stadium update, sidewalks at Hayden Meadows and other projects.

Deniston said the highest-need projects are prioritized. The district is currently working on a 10-year deferred maintenance plan that will soon be presented to the board, then to the state for funding requests. On the horizon for next summer is parking lot surface work at Lake City and Ramsey as well as the ongoing HVAC repairs.

"To me, it’s a win for the community that we were able to use these one-time expiring federal funds to get these much-needed projects done," Deniston said.

    Maintenance foreman Jasper Kohoutek, left, and Kyle Zimmerman, kitchen maintenance technician, conduct work at Fernan STEM Academy this summer. The Coeur d'Alene School District and industry partners completed about $3.5 million in maintenance, security and repair work while students were out of school.
  

    A secured vestibule with ballistic protection and visibility from the office to the entryway was finalized at Ramsey Magnet School of Science as part of summer maintenance and security projects for the Coeur d'Alene School District.
  

    New rooftop HVAC units are seen on top of Coeur d'Alene High School. They were replaced over the summer as part of the many projects the school district completed while students were on vacation.