School district staff told the board Oct. 6 that the bid for replacement chillers came in far below earlier cost estimates and asked the county to repurpose some of the remaining funds for other urgent building repairs.

Amanda Cole Durham, the school finance officer, and Jody (identified as the district facilities director) said the chiller project’s final cost was $363,860 less than anticipated. “The chiller project is $363,860 less than we thought,” the chair summarized, and the school requested $61,060 be repurposed to repair a collapsed underground stormwater pipe and the Mountain View playground drainage.

School staff described additional urgent needs, including a malfunctioning sprinkler/water-supply issue at Westwood (elementary/high school facilities discussion) and water-treatment items and pumps at several sites. Jody described a pipe collapse at Mountain View that created a sinkhole during the FEMA-declared event and said FEMA had declined to absorb the full cost; FEMA involvement had been explored but not fully applicable for the playground pipe repair.

The board moved and voted to repurpose the chiller savings: commissioners approved allocating $50,000 toward the Mountain View pipe repair and $11,060 (the remainder requested) as part of the motion. The vote was taken by voice; the chair announced the motion carried.

Why it matters: The board’s decision uses savings from a capital project to address immediate school-safety and facility needs, including playground safety and building fire‑suppression/water pressure concerns. School staff told the board the Westwood sprinkler/fire-suppression situation has presented life-safety concerns and needs more study and likely further funding.

Next steps: School staff will continue to coordinate with DPI (Department of Public Instruction) and engineering firms on roofing, sprinkler, and water-tank solutions; the board signaled willingness to consider further reallocations once estimates for Westwood’s fire‑suppression fixes and other water infrastructure repairs are available.