Wake school leaders: Consider cutting laptop funding to pay for HVAC, security needs

The Wake County school board should consider cutting funding for some laptop replacements as it seeks to find ways to boost funding for facility needs, Chairman Chris Heagarty said Tuesday -- a sentiment echoed quickly by Superintendent Robert Taylor.

The school system is poised to spend $30 million each year out of facilities funding for technology. At least some of that would go toward laptop replacements for younger grade levels that Heagarty and Taylor believe may not need one device issued to each student.

"We could come in and address more urgent needs in security and environmental needs that impact students' health," Hegarty said. Even if only a quarter of the $30 million were cut, that could still pay for other projects that need funding, he said.

Their comments came at the board's facilities committee meeting Tuesday, as the board received an update on school building projects.

HVAC has been a high concern in the community because the dozens of early releases at schools when a heater or air conditioner broke down and couldn't be fixed quickly.

Heagarty proposed reducing technology funding as one way to make changes to this problem. He said the board has been hearing updates on building projects for years but hasn't proposed ways to address some of the most pressing issues.

"The status quo is not getting it done," Heagarty told the committee. "It's like we're paying off the minimum balance on our credit cards."

Reducing laptop funding is an issue the district is actively exploring. Taylor said leaders are already consulting with one another on how students and teachers use devices and what technology will really be needed.

Taylor said every student having their own device was necessary during the Covid-19 pandemic and remote learning but that it isn't necessary anymore at all grades levels.

"We absolutely have to make a decision about what we do with devices," he said.

No proposal is on the table, and any changes to technology funding would take place over multiple years, Heagarty said after the meeting.

The laptops were largely funded through temporary federal pandemic stimulus dollars, though some were funded and issued before then. Thsoe temporary funds are now gone. Last year, most school systems and charter schools -- including Wake -- told the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction that they did not have a dedicated funding source to replace all devices that were purchased then.

Part of the challenge with HVAC has also been having adequate staffing to provide preventative maintenance and respond to emergencies.

Mark Strickland, district chief of facilities and operations, said staffing levels are better right now, with betwen 70% to 80% of positions filled, than the beginning of the school year, when only half were filled. The district has also added an employee whose only job is to oversee HVAC needs.

But the district is still far behind on preventative maintenance, Strickland said.

The district expects to spend $40 million this year on lifecycle projects, with about half of that going to HVAC projects. It plans to spend a little bit more each year for the five years, building up to $50 million in 2030.

This year, seven schools are getting or planning for new chillers and two are getting or planning for new boilers.

Next year, the school system plans to replace several HVAC systems. Those will be at Wakefield Middle, Highcroft Elementary, Holly Springs Elementary and Willow Springs Elementary. Millbrook High will get a partital HVAC replacement.

The Wake chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators has called for county commissioners to put a bond referendum on the ballot to boost facility spending and improve HVAC and other building conditions.

The district last fall said it was $214 million behind on HVAC maintenance. The district is spending roughly $20 million this year on HVAC projects.

Facilities are one of the most expensive things school systems are responsible for -- costing Wake more than $400 million per year -- and yet the school board thinks they need to be doing more to prevent early releases and uncomfortable learning conditions.