A view of the varsity and junior varsity softball fields at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. is gearing up to spend $23 million on a variety of capital projects to improve its facilities.

“We’re excited,” said director of operations Brett Boezeman. “We have some financial opportunity over the next few years.”

The projects that are planned are from a facilities master plan update from CSO Architects, he said. Every four years, the firm examines BCSC building conditions, meets with all principals and submits a document to school officials that includes a “school-by-school list of recommendations.”

The document is then used every year as building projects are planned, and it helps school officials set priorities for facility updates.

“It’s the guide that we use to help make those decisions on, again, smaller-scale changes,” Boezeman explained. “But then, for example, when we have financial opportunity, as we have coming up, then we can look three or four years out and say, ‘OK, the next building renovation that we would target would be this school, and here are all of our observations from an outside agency that support that decision.’ … So it’s kind of our bible, so to speak, our playbook.”

Out of the $23 million in updates, the largest project planned involves renovations to Parkside Elementary. Boezeman estimated this to be roughly $11 million to $12 million but added that it’s too soon to say for sure, as the project is not yet designed or out to bid.

The goal is a “full interior renovation” of Parkside, he said. There might be some exterior updates such as carline/pickup changes and a possible bus lot addition, but the bulk of the work will be inside.

The project includes full HVAC replacement and renovation, electrical work to support those changes and “educational improvements” to classrooms.

Changes could also include adapting halls into “expanded learning spaces,” and eliminating group restrooms, with plans to move restrooms into classrooms.

A collaborative design process is underway for the Parkside renovations, said Boezeman.

“Right now, CSO, our architectural firm, and a few other partners, including IU, are meeting with teachers and staff at Parkside to help design this space,” he said.

BCSC hopes to make it a model for similar renovations to other elementary schools, he said.

In addition to the interior work, solar panels would be added to the roof of Parkside after the other changes are put into place.

Another elementary school selected for improvements is Schmitt. Boezeman said that about $2 million in HVAC updates are planned as part of the master plan update. The project description also includes other items, such as architectural and electric work to support HVAC upgrades, a roofing system replacement on the lower roof and master planning for future improvements.

HVAC improvements are also planned for other schools as well, including East, North, CSA Fodrea, Richards, Mt. Healthy and Clifty Creek. Most of the work being done involves control system replacements.

“They’re the brains of the whole AC system,” Boezeman said. “So they control your humidity levels, obviously your airflow and your air temperatures, that sort of thing. They also control a lot of our lighting systems. … When those start to go bad, you start having all kinds of problems very quickly. So it’s important to have those up-to-date.”

There will also be boiler replacements at Northside Middle School.

The master plan update includes some roofing projects at the Information Services Center, Clifty Creek and Smith, Boezeman added.

Additionally, there are a number of athletic upgrades planned for the high schools. Several will take place at East, including a new varsity softball field, improvements to the baseball facilities, replacing the visitors’ grandstands at the football field, renovations or replacement of the concession stand in that area, and replacement of tennis courts. There are also plans for both East and North to get lights for varsity baseball and softball.

The athletic improvements will total about $2.9 million, though it will be close, Boezeman said. There may have to be some cuts, he said.

The $23 million in projects are being supported by a few different funding sources, said Assistant Superintendent of Financial Services Chad Phillips.

These sources include:

$13.4 million in bonds — Will go toward roof replacement projects, most of the Parkside renovations, the solar panels at Parkside, and Schmitt improvements.

Just under $7 million from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding — Will go toward HVAC improvements

About $2.9 million from Build America Bond rebates — Will go toward athletic facility upgrades

Of the three funding sources, Phillips said that only the bonds are supported by property taxes.

“Between refinancing existing debt … and timing the payments with debt as it rolls off, it will be net neutral on the tax rate,” he said. “So it will not cause property taxes to go up at all.”

The timeline of these various projects will depend on their respective funding sources, Boezeman said.

Projects tied to bonds won’t go out to bid until the bonds are issued, which will likely be later in the year. However, updates to control units could move more quickly.

“We are working on the documentation right now to put that out to bid here soon, for Fodrea, Mt. Healthy, Richards and Clifty, because those are ESSER funds that we just seek reimbursement for,” Boezeman said.

BCSC has until September of 2024 to spend all of its ESSER III funds, so school officials don’t want to “drag our feet,” he said.

As for projects funded by the Build America Bond rebates, those dollars are already available to the school corporation.

BCSC hopes to make “significant progress” on the athletic upgrades at East and Parkside renovations next year.

“Our elementary buildings are an average of 53 years old now,” said Phillips. “…This is just the beginning, as we know that we have needs across the district.