The Wallingford School District at its Nov. 17 operations meeting approved a $134,677 transfer from the operating budget to replace aging HVAC equipment and complete overdue tennis-court work.

Mister Barone, presenting the financial report, said the district had a monthly surplus of $1,547,000 and identified transportation as a major budget change. He outlined the transfer request and told the board staff could draw the funds from an operating account he deems most appropriate: “it comes from the operating budget,” Barone said when describing where the money would be moved from.

Maintenance staff recommended replacing, rather than repairing, the air handlers at Lyman Hall and two at Dag Hammarskjöld because the original manufacturer no longer supplies parts and compressors are unavailable. Mister Deptula said the units “are still running, providing heat, but they do not have cooling because the compressors failed,” and added that replacement is the prudent option because repairs would rely on used or secondhand components.

The transfer also covers $27,000 needed to finish tennis-court coating and line marking after crews exceeded the original budget on patching and crack repairs. Staff noted the DAG air-handler pair alone is about $80,000 and that the total requested is $134,677.

Board members discussed possible sources for the transfer (insurance, transportation, or contingency balances within the operating budget) and the available contingency balance. To minimize paperwork, the chair asked Mister Barone to select the account; Barone agreed to draw from the operating budget account he deems most appropriate. By consensus, the board approved the transfer; the item will be placed on the next regular board meeting agenda for formal ratification.

Next steps: staff will issue purchase orders and schedule replacement work; the district expects the replacements to avoid future emergency failures and associated downtime.