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School crews busy during spring break

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With students and teachers out of school this week, crews are busy on projects ranging from sealing and striping the middle school track to replacing single-pane and in some cases broken windows in the district office.

Among other items on the district’s maintenance list for spring are new heating and air conditioning units in Olive Peirce Middle School locker rooms, Barnett playground replacement, a storage shed for the aquatics program at Ramona High, new counter tops in the Ramona High science lab, and carpet replacement in Ramona High’s I-wing. Students in Montecito High School’s construction class will build the storage shed, said Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services David Ostermann.

Also in his report to the school board this month, Ostermann asked for and received permission to seek bids for a new intercom system at Ramona High and a new chiller unit in the school’s G-wing.

The chiller system is a central air conditioning unit that cools the entire building. It’s the original system and at over 40 years old needs to be replaced, since technicians aren’t sure it will last another year, Ostermann said. The question is whether the district should replace it with a new system or with individual units in each classroom, he added.

“What’s better? What’s more cost-effective?” he said. “...We hope that we can go with individual units. We think we could do that much cheaper than the whole chiller system, but we’re bringing in some experts to help us with that.”

As required by the state, the district is setting aside $525,000 — 3 percent of its general fund — this year and the next two school years for deferred maintenance. With carryover of $182,000 from last year, Ostermann’s report showed $707,000 this year and $525,000 each in 2017-18 and 2018-19. His complete report is on the district’s website, www.ramonausd.net, under Administrative Services, Board Meeting PowerPoint Presentations.

The November ballot will include a bid for $9 billion for schools from the California Coalition of Adequate School Housing (CASH), said Ostermann. If state voters approve the measure, the Ramona district could be eligible for modernization money under hardship, since district efforts to pass a school bond failed, he noted.

“To be eligible for that, we have to get in line, (and) to get in line we have to have a plan,” said Ostermann.

“At what point does that line form?” asked trustee Dawn Perfect.

“That line is already formed,” replied Ostermann. “There are districts that have already applied for that.”

A plan requires hiring an architect, Ostermann added, asking trustees if they wanted him to return in April with a formal request to seek architects.

“Why wouldn’t we want to do this?” asked trustee John Rajcic.

“Partly because we have to spend a little bit of money on the architectural services without knowing for sure that we would (get state money),” responded Perfect.

“I think it’s worth the gamble,” said Rajcic.

Also during his report, Ostermann said the swimming pool at Ramona High needs a complete overhaul. Estimates range from $500,000 to $3.5 million, depending on how much the district wants to do.

With $540,000 projected for school roof repairs through 2018-19, most at the middle school, Ostermann said he would explore the possibility of grants for work on the pool. A consultant who surveyed all of the school roofs concluded the greatest need is at the middle school.

“They’re the original roofs, so they’re over 30 years old and should be replaced,” said Ostermann. “They are the highest priority.”

“It looks like we’re spending half of our maintenance budget on roofs at that one place,” said Perfect. “Is that really possible that we would do that? ... I raise an eyebrow at that.”

“But those roofs are over 30 years old,” said board president Kim Lasley.

The district can reevaluate specifics in the report, Ostermann said.

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