'These problems aren't going to fix themselves:' Lorain Schools looks at facility needs over next five years

LORAIN — Lorain Schools' "new" buildings aren't looking so new, with maintenance needs making themselves known as some buildings hit the 15- to 20-year-old mark. The district has estimated a nearly $35 million price tag over the next five years to keep its facilities in working order — with everything from parking lots to HVAC systems now in need of routine maintenance, repair or replacement. But other issues are also making themselves known, like cracks in walls at Washington Elementary School. Those cracks point to potential structural issues in the 20-year-old space, and the storm in August highlighting potential inadequacies in the masonry. "You realize you don't do anything to your house for 20 years and see what kind of shape it's in," Executive Director of Operations Mary Mayse said. At a school board meeting last month, Director of Operations Tony Dimacchia gave an overview of the projects he said the district needs to complete to maintain its buildings. Earlier this week, Dimacchia, Superintendent Jeff Graham and Mayse met with The Chronicle-Telegram about those upcoming costs. Frank Jacinto Elementary was built in 2004; while Garfield, Palm, Larkmoor and Washington elementaries and General Johnnie Wilson and Longfellow middle schools were built in 2005. Helen Steiner Rice and Toni Morrison elementaries were completed in 2007; Hawthorne and Stevan Dohanos elementaries were built in 2010; and Admiral King Elementary and Southview Middle School were completed in 2011. Lorain High School, built in 2016, is the district's newest building. A cost analysis completed by Brewer-Garrett for the district's mechanical systems estimated $2.4 million in critical replacements to air handlers, water heaters, boilers and chillers were needed at Washington Elementary, Frank Jacinto Elementary, Garfield Elementary, General Johnnie Wilson Middle School and Longfellow Middle School. Similar replacements or repairs within the next five to 10 years were needed at Toni Morrison Elementary, Stevan Dohanos Elementary, Southview Middle School, Palm Elementary, Longfellow Middle School, Larkmoor Elementary, Helen Steiner Rice Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, General Johnnie Wilson Middle School, Garfield Elementary and Frank Jacinto Elementary. That work totaled $13 million. "It's just that continuous cycle," Mayse said. It isn't as if the district can just open a window if the chillers for the air conditioning go out, Mayse and Graham said, because many of the buildings' windows do not open. The cycle of scheduled repairs and replacements is compounded by the unanticipated cost of replacing the controllers for the HVAC systems, as they are all obsolete, Mayse said. Then there's the work needed to determine why several elementary buildings had water coming in during the storm in August, after the roofs on those buildings had been repaired. Those repairs, an estimated $7 million to inspect and repair the masonry in walls to stop water from penetrating the building, wasn't something the district anticipated when it had already spent Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds to replace the flat roofs. The district also budgeted for replacements to its vehicle fleet, including buses. Last year Lorain Schools changed its transportation provider to Auxilio Services from First Student, and purchased 26 buses and four vans from ABC Transit in Pittsburgh for $2.4 million. The cost to purchase the buses was paid in part by the savings from switching to Auxilio, which now transports local students to surrounding community schools for the district. Mayse estimated spending $735,000 in the next five years to replace two aging vans and eight buses of various sizes. Alongside that work are repairs to parking lots — with costs cut by skimming each lot down 2 inches and resurfacing it rather than completely replacing it — and work needed for sidewalks and curbs. While a homeowner can ignore a cracked driveway or crumbling walkway for a time, it becomes an accessibility issue for the school district, Dimacchia said, asking how students in wheelchairs would navigate a parking lot, sidewalk or walkway that is uneven or damaged. "The bottom line is, the longer it's not taken care of, the worse the situation gets," Mayse said. The problem is the cost. The $35 million in maintenance needs was not part of the district's latest five-year forecast, which predicted Lorain Schools would be spending $7.6 million in the red by the 2026-27 school year. Graham said the brunt of the costs have been delayed thanks to increased enrollment and the relief funds. Now, those are gone. "But these problems aren't going to fix themselves," he said. Lorain Schools is "looking at its options," Graham said, although he wasn't willing to commit to putting a levy on the ballot without discussing it with the school board. But the district's general fund, which has been paying for repairs and replacements of mechanical items and other issues as they arise, cannot sustain the projected costs over the next five years, he said. "My personal opinion, if there's some way we can do this without increasing taxes, obviously that's the goal," Graham said. "But we've got a lot more learning to do." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.