The Burrell School Board has taken the first step to undergo a heating and cooling project at Burrell High School.

Superintendent Shannon Wagner said the board voted Tuesday to advertise construction project bids for HVAC improvements at the high school.

The school does not have air conditioning. The heating and cooling project is estimated to cost $8.3 million, Wagner said. The district plans to take out a $10 million bond to cover that project in the fall, she said.

The HVAC bids will be sought in June, and the school board will consider awarding the project in August, Wagner said.

That’s part of multi-million, districtwide construction projects the board will consider working through over the next couple of months.

Burrell has already moved forward with an $800,000 boiler replacement at the high school. The school’s boilers are from 1964, the year the school was built.

Completion on that project is anticipated in August.

“The stuff needs to be replaced,” said board President Rick Kaczor. “We’re not doing it just to do it. The boiler is original, the univents, I believe, are original.

“It’s time to maintain our house, continue to maintain our house. You can’t let it go.”

The board is currently advertising for a cafeteria addition, air conditioning and boiler repairs at Bon Air Elementary School, estimated to cost around $10.4 million, Wagner said.

District officials said previously the cafeteria addition is necessary to accommodate fourth grade classes when they join the school next year, because of Stewart Elementary’s closing. Bon Air does not have air conditioning, and its boilers, and heating and ventilation systems, are from 1997.

The school board would open those bids June 17, Wagner said, and consider awarding a contract June 24. Another $10 million bond would be used to cover the project.

Construction would be complete in August 2026.

The district also advertised an alternative bid for an additional classroom wing with the cafeteria addition, HVAC improvements and boiler repairs at Bon Air, although it’s unlikely they would move forward with that proposal.

The classrooms would be needed if the district moved fifth grade classes to Bon Air instead of Charles A. Huston Middle School after next year.

It’s estimated that the project would cost just under $15 million.

In Kaczor’s opinion, he would not move forward with the classroom addition.

“We do not need the extra classrooms at the time,” he said. “We can make it work with the space we have, but we do need to do the cafeteria addition. That’s what’s best for the kids at the school.”

Budget approved

The school directors approved a proposed budget that totals $37.7 million and raises taxes 3.8%.

“I hate that we have to raise taxes,” Kaczor said, “but in order to maintain the house you have to have the revenue.”

The proposal raises the district’s millage rate by 4.5 mills, from 117.5 mills to 122.

He pointed to the district having no natural growth and decreased property assessments contributing to the tax increase.

Burrell has seen a consistent decline in total assessed value over the past years, driven largely by reassessments from large commercial properties, Business Manager Jennifer Callahan said previously. Since 2023 alone, reassessments have reduced the district’s total assessed value by millions of dollars, having the school district missing out on more than $700,000 in annual revenue.

“I can’t fix what the county is doing to us as a school district,” Kaczor said.

Other major increases in the budget include personnel costs, cyber and charter school payments, special education services and other educational placements. It adds an armed security guard at Huston Middle School.

Board members will make any adjustments to the proposal during a meeting June 17, and cast a final vote June 24.

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