The South Bend Community School Corporation plans to spend more than $44 million on capital projects over the next three years. The biggest expenditures will be on roof replacements, safety and security upgrades, parking lot repairs, and heating and cooling systems. As a next step, the school board agreed to issue almost $17 million in general obligation bonds, to pay for the projects planned for next year.
“We must prioritize our needs and work on the capital projects which are most needed, to ensure the bare minimum safe and secure learning environment for all our students, regardless of their race or their neighborhood or the side of the town,” Chief Financial Officer Ahnaf Tahmid told the school board Monday.
Washington High School stands to get the biggest share of upgrades, with more than $4 million worth of improvements planned there. "Washington is at the top because the building is at the worst situation there," Tahmid explained. "They need the money. If it was another building, we would have done the same thing."
Adams High School is also set to get some improvements. The school board approved a $450,000 contract with Hebard & Hebard Architects. The $5 million project would focus on the original 1940s building – including masonry restoration, new roofing and a new secure entrance. Work would take place in 2026 and 2027.
The facility plans won’t include a reconfiguration of grade levels. Board member Mark Costello withdrew his proposal to move sixth grade from middle to elementary schools. He said he was trying to come up with a way to curb declining enrollment, but the idea quickly proved unpopular with teachers and administrators.
"I accept what people wanted, and we go on with life," Costello said during Monday's meeting. "And I’m just hoping everything I have predicted for the future will be wrong."
Despite the school corporation’s detailed facility plans, its advertised capital projects plan is actually blank, since the district plans to borrow money for the work, rather than use its operations fund.
