As many of you are aware, Ladd School is currenlty without air conditioning. We know that it is not convenient or comfortable and certainly not what we want. As we work through this situation and the days get warmer, we know that you all have questions and concerns.
We have tried to keep you all updated on the status with the current chiller and the issues with the HVAC system. Ladd School was built in 2003 and is now over 20 years old. That means all of the mechanical systems are now over 20 years old and are aging out at the same time. As we move forward we are trying to be proactive about a maintenance and replacement plan for the entire system by working closely with the architect and engineer to evaluate our options and to ensure we are being fiscally responsible, prolonging the life of our current system as much as possilbe.
We are fortunate to be a district that has air conditioning, and will continue to be in the future. We want to address your questions and concerns regarding our process. Below are answers to the most frequently asked questions. If you have any additional questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out by calling the office at 815-894-2363 or email at dcarver@laddccsd94.com
Thank you,
Dana K Carver, Superintendent
Why is there no air conditioning at Ladd School?
This summer, the building's chiller began to fail. The chiller operated on two coils that cool the water and return it to the building for the air conditioning. One of the coils failed in the summer and we operated into the fall on one coil as we began to investigate options for repairing the chiller. Maintenance staff had to constantly run water on the unit to prevent overheating.
In the fall we lost the second coil. At this point we were told attempting more repairs was going to be costly with limited results.
Are we going to fix the air conditioning?
Yes. We definitely are.
How much does it cost to replace the chiller?
Current estimates for a replacement chiller are around $100,000 plus the cost of installation.
Isn't there grant money to cover the replacement?
No. The district will continue to explore options, but at this time the cost of the chiller will have to come out of our fund balances.
Could the current chiller have been repaired for this year?
We were given an estimate of $6561.00 to attempt to repair one of the coils on the current chiller to try to get through the season. The other coil is not repairable. We were advised by the service that this repair, if successful, could last for a bit of time, or could last 1 day and go out again, or it could not work at all. They had zero confidence that it would be successful. Had they gotten it running, we would have continued to have the overheating issues. Our maintenance staff and the Board agreed this was not a fiscally responsible decision.
Will there be air conditioning in the fall?
No.
The process for replacing the chiller has several required steps and will take some time. First, purchases and projects of this magnitude require a bidding process, which by statute, any project over $35,000 must be open to bid and awarded to the lowest responsible bidder considering conformity with specifications, terms of delivery, quality, and serviceability. The district is currently working with the architect to complete the bidding process, which will take multiple weeks.
Once the bidding process is complete, how long before the chiller will be replaced?
Once the bidding process is complete, the Board must take action to award the bid based on the requirements of the statute. After a bid is approved, the chiller can be ordered. The current lead time for delivery of a chiller is averaging around 40 weeks.
Why didn't the district start the bidding process right away in the fall?
The district started working on the issue in the fall, but the first step in that process was to obtain an architect that would fit the district's needs. The district conducted the Request for Qualification process to obtain the architect in the fall. Once the architect was hired, we immediately began the process of evaluating the entire HVAC system to find the most appropriate and fiscally responsible solution. Based on that evaluation, the architect and engineer advised the Board of the best replacement options. Since a repair was not a viable solution and we determined we could get a little more life out of the rest of the HVAC system, we began working with the architect on the best options for the chiller replacement.
Was there a way to get a chiller here sooner?
The short answer is yes.
We could have purchased a stock chiller, which is a prefabricated chiller companies sometimes make in excess of their orders. Sometimes these chillers can be purchased by districts and received more quickly.
The Board looked at one option that we were able to find, however the cost of the chiller and the installation would have been higher since the chiller would not have been custom to our system and it's needs and the fact that the installation would have had to be rushed during peak construction time. It was the recommendation from the architect and engineer that the most cost effective and efficient solution would be ordering a custom chiller using a traditional bidding process.
Will there be early release days in the fall due to the heat?
Possibly. As we move into the fall, we will monitor the heat index and the temperatures in the rooms and make those decisions. We will continue to use our Ladd School App and alert system to notify families and will make those decisions ahead of time as best as we can.
Why does the office have air conditioning when the rest of the building doesn't?
The building has a couple of rooftop units that serve smaller areas of the building . One covers the main office and the teacher's workroom and conference room. The other covers the superintendent office and the Makerspace. If these units were shut off it would eliminate the few spaces that teachers and students could go to take turns cooling off. It would also create issues with the district server that needs a more temperature controlled enviornment to function.