Dayton board OKs $30M in repairs

District officials have not outlined how money will be spent and which schools will get improvements.

Dayton’s school board on Tuesday night unanimously approved a complex legal document triggering $30 million in borrowing for renovations and improvements to Dayton school buildings.

But more than a year after starting public discussions on the issue, the district still doesn’t have a detailed list of what projects are needed at each of the schools, most of which were built from 2004-2012.

Tuesday’s document is an intricate lease-purchase financing agreement — including procedures for a ground lease, rent payments and borrowing — that was explained to the board last year by attorneys.

Dayton Public Schools Treasurer Hiwot Abraha said the deal authorizes the district to borrow the $30 million for the project, but doesn’t take the next step of approving the actual spending.

DPS started discussing possible building repairs more than a year ago, citing a need to catch up on years of deferred maintenance. Then last May, the board approved in principle a multimillion-dollar facilities spending plan, citing “high-priority items” from a report by Four Seasons Environmental, Inc.

Twice last year, the Dayton Daily News pointed out that the Four Seasons report does not actually include a list of specific projects. On Tuesday, school board President Mohamed Al-Hamdani said the specific list still doesn’t exist.

“I would request that our good folks in facilities put a plan together whenever everybody’s back at work,” Al-Hamdani said to Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli. “I’d like to see a full three-year plan as to how this money would be spent, in which phases, in which schools, and what projects. I’d like that presented to us as soon as possible.”

Last May, Associate Superintendent

Shelia Burton identified roofs, parking lots and HVAC systems as the three areas having the greatest need and highest costs for DPS. But when pressed for details in December, the district produced a spreadsheet plan that did not call for any roof work, and included outdoor athletic fields and tracks as the second largest expense.

Tuesday’s school board meeting was closed to the public but could be watched via online video, because of limitations on large gatherings tied to the coronavirus outbreak.

Staffing changes

At Tuesday’s meeting, the school board approved the resignations of two high-level administrators who had joined the district only months ago — chief of human resources Latricia Milhouse, and executive director of transportation and fleet Thomas Gray.

Neither could immediately be reached for comment. Lolli said the ongoing school shutdown for coronavirus makes the mid-year departures a bit easier to absorb.

Lolli said Milhouse, who was hired from Wright State’s HR department in December, is resigning because the job “wasn’t what she expected it to be.” The resignation is listed as effective April 3, and Burton, who was Milhouse’s boss, is overseeing that area according to Lolli.

Gray, who started with DPS in

recreation centers, said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein.

The city says staff who are most vulnerable to the virus because of their age and health status or who have vulnerable family members at home will work remotely.

The city has modified and suspended its leave policies and will provide work flexibility for employees who have childcare or elder care needs during this emergency, and workers who are sick will stay home, Dickstein said.

Police, fire and other emergency personnel will continue to work but will modify their operations and services and the city organization will focus on high-priority services, she said.

If the city sees a spike in absenteeism because of the coronavirus, it has plans in place to increase or enhance capacity in high-priority areas, she said.

Every department has “continuity of operations” plans that identify the minimum staffing needed to deliver services, she said.

“I want the community to know that we have been planning the work and working the plan,” she said.

When the golf courses close, as expected, some of those workers have skills that can provide support for public works and waste collections operations, officials said.

City employees who continue to work from city facilities have been practicing “strong” social distancing measures, including cleaning work spaces and equipment multiple times each day and holding meetings electronically, Dickstein said.

“We don’t want to create an opportunity for our workforce to be exposed unnecessarily,” she said.

Citizens who need to make payments to the city can do so by phone, online, by mail or at CVS Pharmacy or Family Dollar stores, officials said.

Dayton provides some of the most critical public services, including police, fire and EMS and trash pickup, Whaley said, adding the other major services are health care and hospitals.

“We run three of the five essential services for this community,” she said.