Facility Focus

Approximately 750,000 square feet of academic facilities. 200 acres of land. One goal: Support an "ALite" education for each student in the Avon Lake City School District.

What's going on in our schools from a facilities standpoint? What projects are we working on? What challenges do we face? What opportunities exist? We started this newsletter last year to answer those questions and more!

During the deep freeze of December, 2022, one of two chillers at the high school failed due to freeze damage. The cost to repair the 23-year-old chiller was more than 50% of the cost of buying new, so the decision was made to replace the entire chiller plant at one time, rather than try to replace one and run it next to its other 23-year-old counterpart.

The $1.34 million project was partially offset by insurance settlement money, which was also used to cover costs associated with a rental chiller last summer. The new chillers arrived and were installed on-schedule in mid to late May, 2024, and have been fully operational during summer activities at ALHS, including summer school, Camp Imagine, and various athletic activities on campus.

While students and staff are now breathing a sigh of (cool) relief, the new chillers do not resolve the significant HVAC challenges the high school continues to face, including aging and inefficient boilers (Boiler #1 has a crack in it that will need to be temporarily repaired as we await news on part availability), failing dampers and actuators, and aging air handling units that need to be maintained, in addition to the typical seasonal maintenance and filter changes that take place.

For now, we'll celebrate bringing this large project to a close! If you missed it the first time, check out the timelapse video of the day we took delivery of the new chillers, as originally shared in May:

Decisions to defer the replacement of key system components, like the failed Make-Up Air Unit (MUA) pictured here that serves the gym at Eastview Elementary, are no longer possible. When repairs are not feasible or practical (in this case, the unit is unsafe and needed to be disconnected), we must replace these items at significant expense on buildings that continue to age.

In addition to the HVAC systems at all buildings, the roofs, plumbing and electrical systems, life safety systems (such as fire alarm panels and sprinklers), and more are all under significant strain. We have replaced a hot water tank at Redwood, will be replacing roof sections at Troy and Learwood this summer, and are repairing a crack in Boiler #1 at the high school, just to name a few major issues on the list.

Where physical facilities and learning truly meet are in the spaces dedicated to serving students, and we are proud to support the needs of all children.

Today, there is more individualized instruction and small group support taking place than ever before. Students also come to us with profound needs, including in the area of functional life skills. Our educators and paraprofessionals work hard to provide for those needs, including toileting and changing in addition to reading, writing, and 'rithmatic.

As the accompanying photo from Westview shows, we are currently retrofitting small spaces from the 1950s to serve today's students. We are proud to do it, but the conditions are barely adequate.

The need remains.

Between summer school, athletics, city recreation programs, and more, summertime is certainly not a quiet time on our campuses. At all buildings...

• The custodial staff waxes floors, deep cleans equipment, and generally re-sets the buildings for the year ahead, in addition to hosting summer activities and providing access to contractors who are also there making repairs and completing projects of their own - like the replacement of the torn carpet in the music room at Redwood (pictured).
• Safety inspections and repairs are completed on items like our gym bleachers and associated athletic equipment, cleaning and repair of the turf field at Memorial Stadium, inspections of our fire alarm and sprinkler systems, and more.
• Sidewalks are repaired, and driveway/parking lot asphalt is crack filled, seal coated, and striped.
• Trees are trimmed or removed, especially those near high-traffic areas, like playgrounds and parking lots.
• Roofs are repaired, and any water-damaged areas are addressed with replacement ceiling tiles, paint, etc.
• Unit ventilators are cleaned out, air filters are changed, and other critical systems are inspected and repaired.
• Classroom and office moves take place.
• ...and so much more!

We are deeply grateful to all of our staff who work throughout the summer to keep our facilities in a position where they can serve students, families, and the community all year round.