Dearborn Public Schools is planning a special meeting on Sept. 24, 2024 to talk about how to engage with the community on infrastructure and building needs of the district, even as the last of the major summer projects funded by federal pandemic dollars come to a close.
The board’s special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24 will start at 6 p.m. Trustees are expected to discuss hiring an outside firm to assist with gathering public input on current and future building needs. Funding for these projects would most likely come from a bond proposal, possibly in 2025 or 2026.
Meanwhile, the district is working on the finishing touches on large renovations projects at four elementary schools. The projects, averaging more than $5 million per building, upgraded heating and ventilation systems and added air conditioning at each of the buildings.
Haigh, Howard and Nowlin schools should have their new cooling systems checked later in September, although the systems are not expected to be fully functional until next spring. In addition to HVAC upgrades, Haigh Elementary also received a six-classroom addition and a new cafeteria. The additional space is already in use. Air conditioning at Haigh will only be in select areas including the wing with the new classrooms in the cafeteria.
For Long Elementary, HVAC testing is being delayed due to electrical issues at the site, but the district is still hopeful the system will be operational by the spring of 2025.
Funding for the four projects came from federal COVID-relief funding. The third wave of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER) allowed schools to upgrade heating and ventilation systems to improve air flow in schools or take steps to reduce overcrowding. By selecting Howard, Long and Nowlin, the district was also able to include much needed boiler upgrades in the federally funded project.
ESSER funding could only be used for specific purposes. In some cases, the district was able to use the funds to offset other eligible expenses, such as some staffing costs, and then invest those savings back into buildings for other projects. All of the ESSER funding had to be spent or at least allocated by September 2024. Over the last few years, the district has been able to set aside about $52 million for buildings as a result of ESSER funds.
Among other larger projects the district completed over the summer:
- Portions of roofs were replaced at Bryant Middle, Edsel Ford High, Fordson High and Stout Middle. These new portions have a 20-year warranty against leaks. The district typically only replaces sections of school roofs, instead of the whole roof, due to the cost and limited summer time frame to complete the work.
- Henry Ford Elementary and Howard had their asphalt service drives replaced.
- Renovations started in the Henry Ford Early College South Building for classrooms and administration space. Much larger renovations are planned at the HFEC buildings next year.
- Concrete replacement for sidewalks and walkways was scattered across the district.
- The Dearborn High softball field and Edsel Ford High’s baseball field had work done along the infields and vegetation control for the entire field.
Work on an $11 million energy efficiency bond also continues in the district. That work will likely now continue beyond the original December 2024 anticipated end date. The most visible part of that project is the installation of LED lights at most of the district’s 36 buildings. Other efficiency projects included better sealing doors and windows, installing lower flow faucets, and replacing steam traps on heating systems. Find more about the energy efficiency bond on the Efficiency Bond webpage.
Meanwhile, the list of building projects that need to be addressed in the district continues to grow. Among top concerns are air conditioning units that are past life expectancy and/or working at less than half of capacity at Becker Elementary, McCollough Unis, Miller Elementary, Salina Intermediate and William Ford Elementary. At Smith Middle, the boilers are past their life expectancy, and at Fordson High, the air handling unit for G and F halls needs to be replaced.