The most dramatic topic of Thursday’s Durham Public Schools Board of Education meeting may be the recent classified pay situation, but the consent agenda also includes some items of interest for DPS families, including repairs and renovations proposed with North Carolina Education Lottery funds and a proposal to hire a company for a facilities condition assessment.

Multiple Durham Schools Repair Projects

The DPS administration is recommending that the district spend $700,000 in lottery funds to make repairs in multiple schools. Fixes include:

• Bathroom partitions: $50,000.
• Replacing blinds: $400,000.
• Painting inside buildings: $150,000.
• Kitchen equipment: $50,000.
• Repairing windows and glass: $50,000.

C.C. Spaulding Auditorium Renovation

Administrators recommend spending $1.3 million on C.C. Spaulding Elementary School’s auditorium to update equipment, install energy-efficient lighting, and upgrade to meet ADA requirements. It’s also expected that the project will “remove all hazardous materials for indoor air quality,” the agenda item indicates.

The work is scheduled to be completed during the 2024 summer break.

Facilities Condition Assessment Proposal

The district may spend $1.19 million to hire Turner & Townsend Heery to conduct a facilities condition assessment.

In a letter to DPS, the company’s vice president, David Waggoner, wrote:

“We believe that the students and faculty of Durham Public Schools deserve better classrooms, better schools, and overall safer facilities. A Facility Condition Assessment is the first step to delivering these critical improvements.”

The company cites its experience in K-12 project management, cost-estimating, and FCA projects as criteria that make it valuable in this role.

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