Study: Peoria Unified needs more than $220M in repairs, updates
About $223 million in repairs and updates should be done to Peoria Unified School District facilities over the next 15 years, according to a study commissioned by the district from ADM Group and ThinkSmart Planning.
The study outlined the needs in order of priority — high, medium and low.
About $9 million is needed to cover high priority items, $190 million for medium priority items and about $24 million in low priority items.
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About $223 million in repairs and updates should be done to Peoria Unified School District facilities over the next 15 years, according to a study commissioned by the district from ADM Group and ThinkSmart Planning.
The study outlined the needs in order of priority — high, medium and low.
About $9 million is needed to cover high priority items, $190 million for medium priority items and about $24 million in low priority items.
This does not include soft costs such as architectural, engineering, financing, legal fees, and other pre- and post-construction expenses, which could reach around an additional $80 million.
David Peterson, project director with ADM Group, said the study was commissioned to define facility needs at each campus and support facilities, assess physical conditions of all sites, determine the needs for repair and replacement, prioritize them and determine the cost of improvements. Considerations of funding sources were also explored, as well as capacity and utilization of district schools.
From the study a comprehensive master plan may be produced for each school site that identifies needed repair and renovation projects, as well as site enhancement projects.
The study provides real data to make informed decisions about future bonds and other district needs, Mr. Peterson said.
“You have some new facilities and some aging facilities and some well worn facilities. Some schools have flooring that is reaching the end of its useful life. Those are things we need to make sure we note, because unfortunately in Arizona, dollars are scarce and we’ve got to make sure the dollars are spent wisely and maximize life. Peoria done a good job of that,” he said.
The study was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged so it is unclear how and when recommendations may be implemented.
“Environmental changes related to COVID-19 and potential future changes related to online learning will be dependent on whether or not the length of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will be rapid or prolonged,” PUSD CFO Michelle Myers said.
The study looked at overcrowding throughout the district and found the total number of open seats is 7,094 or 16%. Elementary schools have 22% of their seats open and high school have 2% of their seats open.
Molly Smith, founder and senior planner at ThinkSmart Planning, said schools to the north and western portions of the district are nearing or at overcapacity while schools in the south and east are under capacity or low in utilization.
In general, older elementary and high schools have lower utilization levels; all other high schools are overcapacity, she said.
“Most all the high schools are over utilized at this point, with just one school under utilized — Peoria. So most of the pressure is happening at the high school level,” Ms. Smith said.
“We find that our older elementary and high schools have lower utilization levels, basically under utilized for the schools that are [built in the] 1920s to 1970s. And then the utilization factors go up for the newer schools, which basically coincides with the way the district has grown to the north and the west,” she said.
Peoria’s population increased by 4,067 people in 2018, a 2.4% increase from 2017 and a 11.2% jump from 2010, according to the U.S. Census. PUSD has experienced difficulty keeping up with the growth, particularly in the north, with redistricting completed in 2017 to adjust for school overcrowding.
Mr. Peterson said now the study is complete, deeper discussions need to be had as to future bonds and how to better utilize schools.
“We have taken the facilities side of it and broken out the dollars based on priorities and years. If you were to look at what would be two bond programs, that’s what we tried to do,” he said. “Looking at actual facility use for programs is something I think the governing board and district staff and superintendent are going to have to have a discussion on what they want to do for innovative programs or to right-size a school, and to make sure they are used appropriately.”
Funds have tightened in PUSD due to the failure of a $189 bond in 2018 and a $198 million bond in 2016 that have left some schools in disrepair and could push the district to cut programs. The district is now considering a possible bond for the November general election. The governing board will receive a final recommendation from an advisory committee on whether to move forward with a bond and/or override. The recommendation must be made by the last regular governing board meeting in May.
The study recommended two possible future package bond programs over 10 years — a one to five year $132 bond program and a six to 10 year $126 million program.
“We tried to get a snapshot in time right now of where the district is at, and how things are going,” Mr. Peterson said. “So we broke it down into 5- and 10-year windows for potential future bonds. We assessed the campuses and assigned costs to them and opportunities for the next generation learning environment.”
Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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