Aging infrastructure has become a growing concern at many Norfolk Public Schools buildings, potentially translating into more dollars needed for renovations.
At the school board meeting on Monday, associate superintendent of business services Erik Wilson presented an update on facilities districtwide, saying some building infrastructure, dehumidification systems and HVAC machines are in need of a face-lift sometime in the future.
“The district’s done a lot of work over the last 10 years updating the needs of our district and our facilities. … But you know how it is — when you get one thing done, something else pops up,” Wilson said. “… None of these things are like, ‘Oh my gosh, we gotta replace these tomorrow.’ Just things we have to keep our sights (on) so we know there’s potential of concerns in the future.”
He described a litany of renovations needed at each school in the NPS district, which totals to about $3.5 million. Wilson said he would look to reduce the need to solicit those dollars from taxpayers, including through grants and existing funds in the district’s other bank accounts.
Wilson and superintendent Jami Jo Thompson — with the aid of school principals and staff — surveyed facilities earlier this year to identify needs and bring those before the board for consideration as it begins discussions for its 2024-25 budget next month.
“There is nothing in the budget for a specific project right now. Just want the board aware of things that we are keeping an eye on and may have to prepare for in the future,” Wilson told the Daily News.
HVAC, concrete concerns at elementary schools
Parking lot issues at Little Panthers Preschool have mounted, Wilson explained, saying the district could set aside $40,000 to fix the worst concrete panels and budget for more replacements as needed.
“When we bought Little Panthers Preschool back in the day, we knew that the parking lot had some issues, and it’s continually getting worse and worse,” he said.
The roof over the gym and kitchen have aged, as well. Wilson said the kitchen roof was replaced this summer because of severe leaking.
Rooftop HVAC units at Bel Air Elementary have been waning, including one that has a faulty compressor. Wilson said the district is repairing this unit, which supplies air conditioning to three classrooms and has caused humidity issues in the school library.
If one of these rooftop units stopped working, Wilson said, it would cost the district $36,000 to replace each unit to continue school operations. There are eight units.
Concrete on the south side of the school is deteriorating, as well.
“Historically, we have done concrete projects every summer, trying to fix up the worst areas first. We usually replace panels at a time as they’re broken. We don’t necessarily just go tear out the whole parking lot,” Wilson explained. “We just replaced busted up panels. There’s a lot of broken panels in this area. Twenty-thousand dollars wouldn’t do the whole lot, but it would hopefully clean up some of these more rough, broken panels. This is an area where we see a lot of wheelchair access and walker access.”
He said the district’s maintenance department uses cold patches and levelers to address minor concrete issues. More substantial work would need to be done by a company.
An addition at the school was completed in 2023. But carpets in older areas of Bel Air have begun shrinking, including in the entryway, main office, hallway and classrooms. It would cost about $3,500 to replace carpeting in each classroom.
At Grant Elementary, the school’s 20 heat pumps don’t provide dehumidification. To replace them, Wilson said, it would cost the district nearly $275,000.
“It is recommended that we start budgeting to replace a couple of these each year,” he said. “We’re obviously not going to replace them until they go out, but we need to make sure we have money set aside in case we do lose one or two.”
Wilson spoke of humidity issues in Grant’s basement, posing potential air quality concerns in the future.
Current drains for rain and snowmelt are located near concrete. During the winter, Wilson said, the area around this drain “gets iced up pretty bad,” causing drainage problems.
Two make-up air units haven’t been working properly, coupled with an older HVAC system at the school. (Make-up air units pull in fresh, tempered air from outside a building to replace existing air that cannot be recirculated).
Wilson expressed a desire to restore areas of Jefferson Elementary that could be prone to asbestos and deteriorating glue.
It’s also difficult for snowmelt to migrate from grassy areas and into the nearest drain, he said. His solution was to install drains in the grass.
Large, old windows in the library aren’t well-insulated. Its current HVAC system has been prone to frosting, as well.
Thawing from winter weather has caused gym tiles at Lincoln-Montessori Elementary to crack, as well as broken concrete in areas frequented by students.
Older exterior doors don’t seal well and leak cold air.
“Our guys do the best they can to maintain those and put seals in them, but with the quality of those doors, new technology is way better,” Wilson said.
He explained how the district takes care of its newly paved concrete but said the environment in Nebraska makes it inevitable for it to harden and crack.
Wilson said an HVAC unit at Washington Elementary may shut down within the next five years, which would cost the district $300,000.
He also received requests to renovate the boys and girls bathrooms — which would cost $12,000 — and upgrade lighting. He suggested paving concrete on the north side of the building to make trash disposal easier, as well.
Three HVAC units at Westside Elementary that provide air conditioning to the office and library areas have a “limited life,” Wilson said. The air unit for the school’s gym is old and struggles during the winter season.
“When we get those real, cold blowing winds, wind chills, (it) gets pretty hard to keep up with those temperatures,” he said. “This system struggles on those days. Makes it a little bit chilly having P.E. during those days.”
Much like Lincoln-Montessori, Westside also has gym floor issues. Wilson said this would be addressed by placing new tiles around the gym floor so students don’t injure themselves on broken tiles. He spoke of gym door issues and upgrading lighting at the school.
At Woodland Park, Wilson said flooring and carpeting are “worn down” and need to be replaced. He spoke of issues with door sealants and locks, as well as a lack of a sprinkler system at the building (which he said would be a “substantial investment”).
A ramp in the playground also needs concrete work, he said. This would cost the district $20,000.
Grades 7-12 in need of infrastructure face-lifts
Now in the midst of an addition, Norfolk Middle School could upgrade its chiller system, according to Wilson. The district spends “a lot of money” on chemicals for hard water, which is rough on the chiller system.
He said some dehumidification units would be wanted on heat pumps. This would cost the district $390,000.
Additional classroom make-up air units could be installed for $66,000.
“This was not part of the addition. Nothing is dire straits in regard to their HVAC,” Wilson told the Daily News. “It is just a heads up that we have many older units original to the building. We have to be prepared and planning on how to update these when they are no longer functional.”
At Norfolk Junior High School, Wilson said fixing cracks and gaps throughout the building would cost $100,000 and could worsen with rain and thaw. The district also is eyeing a possible rebuild of its air handler system in the future, which would cost $150,000.
Other minor renovations at NJHS included upgrading carpeting — costing $45,000 in each classroom — landscaping issues and peeling paint inside its century-old auditorium.
Over on Riverside Boulevard, roofing near the center of Norfolk High School may get replaced. A few rooftop HVAC units also aren’t functioning properly. Replacing those units individually could cost at least $30,000 to nearly $50,000.
A move to rebuild the main air handler that blows through the tunnels of the high school would cost $145,000. Recarpeting in needed areas could cost $35,000.
Other areas of concern included refinishing the flooring in the main gym, sealing a major crack in the concrete near the football field and remodeling the Little Theater, an area typically used for study halls and meetings, into a multipurpose space that athletes also could train in.
A planter at the high school also could get replaced.
“And not just for an aesthetic thing,” Wilson said. “We’ve had some issues when we call ambulances, if we have to take somebody out on a stretcher, this 90-degree turn right here — this is the only way up in there — that’s ramped. It just makes it tough for emergency personnel to get into the building.”
Johnny Carson Theatre’s weights, pulleys and light system could be replaced at a cost of $200,000, among other renovations that could take place on the stage and in bathrooms.
The district’s maintenance building also has faulty gas heaters, which could stop heating flow into the building if they stop working. The flooring and deck area also are aging, Wilson said. The current car lift in the building has a bent and could be replaced with one designed to lift vans.
In transportation, Wilson recommended the purchase of another backup bus for the district’s vehicle fleet. He noted that there are no backup special education buses.
“I gave you guys a worst-case list here. There’s a lot of (other) things on that list,” Wilson said. “… We continue to tackle these as needed and prioritize the list with our maintenance department.”