District recommends reinvesting excess Edison construction bond funds

Wednesday, May 26 - Today during a public school board work session Superintendent Dr. Richard Carter recommended the district reinvest the $1.6 million excess bond funds from the Edison Elementary construction project as a result of the completed project coming in under budget.

 No action was taken today. This issue will be an action item during the June 1 school board meeting.

Carter said the excess funds could pay for much needed capital improvement projects across the district.

"The decision to reinvest these excess dollars is a sound financial decision as we have more than $100 million in documented facility improvement needs across the district," Carter said. "By reinvesting these excess dollars we can effectively make improvements to enhance our learning environments and extend the life of our school buildings thus lessening the need to ask our voters for additional bond dollars in the future."

Carter recommended the district use the excess funds for the following projects:
- Radon remediation at Blue Ridge Elementary
- Telecommunication improvements at four schools (Green Park, Berney, Pioneer and Garrison)
- Energy efficiency and air quality improvements (action could leverage additional state grant dollars through state energy efficiency programs)
- Capital improvement to educational facilities to promote student achievement and safety

Carter reported there were several factors leading up to the district coming in under budget on the Edison construction project.

Factors leading to the Edison project coming in under budget include:
- Global recession which led to lower contractor and building supplies costs
- Excellent architectural plans which resulted in fewer construction change orders
- Effective and efficient construction management and project oversight

On February 6, 2007, Walla Walla voters approved the $19.5 million bond to construct a new Edison Elementary bond with a 61 percent yes count. The bond measure ballot language did include provisions to use excess funds for other district capital improvement projects.