Fayetteville School Board approves $1.1 million ventilation project

FAYETTEVILLE -- The School Board approved Thursday installing new ventilation and building control systems in seven school gyms for more than $1.1 million.

The board voted 7-0 in support of the project.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and their supporting system controls will be installed at Asbell, Holcomb and Owl Creek elementary schools and Holt and McNair middle schools, according to supporting documents.

All schools will receive installations at one building, with the exception of Owl Creek, which will receive systems at two buildings, said Megan Duncan, Support Services associate superintendent.

The project is part of a bond approved by voters in February, she said.

"This will allow us to have air conditioning in every gym that we have in the district," Duncan said.

The installations became a recognized need following a facility conditions assessment the district did in 2018, she said.

"Every building in our district received some of that feedback," Duncan said.

The new systems will contribute to the district's energy efficiency efforts, she said.

"One of the things that we're trying to accomplish through the FCA is to optimize that energy efficiency across the district, and how you do that is by addressing some of those HVAC needs," Duncan said of the ventilation systems.

The building control systems will be computerized and will allow the district to optimize efficiently, she said.

Some the district's current systems were installed in the 1960s and don't have the ability to be monitored electronically, Duncan said.

"In some cases, you don't know if they are operating at optimal efficiency," she said. "It just wasn't a even a thought in that technology piece during that space and time."

The installations are anticipated to begin next semester, Duncan said.

"Our goal is to start in January and move quickly through the rest of the project," she said.

The work will be done by Milestone Construction of Springdale, Duncan said.

In other news, five people provided feedback to the board concerning continuing to keep district schools open during the pandemic.

Anna Beaulieu represented the Fayetteville Education Association to encourage the district to fully transition to online learning through the end of the semester.

Beaulieu said staff fatigue, rising cases of covid-19 in the region and challenges in enforcing safety protocols warrant the decision.

Teri Eklund, a first grade teacher for the district, advocated for keeping schools open, stressing safety protocols are being enforced for students and staff.

Transitioning to remote learning would result in learning loss and requires parental involvement that isn't universally feasible for families with working parents, Eklund said.

John L Colbert, superintendent, thanked participants for their feedback, explaining it helps shape district decision making.

"Overall, what I see is we are doing well," Colbert said of the district's efforts to enforce safety protocols and keep the number of covid-19 cases within the district as low as possible.

The district has 30 students and 18 staff members who've tested positive for the virus, according to the district's online covid-19 dashboard.

"We know how personal covid-19 is," said Melissa Thomas, Health Services director, explaining the district hasn't reached a critical point for the virus in its schools.

Colbert said district will release information explaining what school will look like next semester.