It looks like the Coronado Unified School District is finally getting serious about installing air conditioning.
As record-breaking high temperatures prompted a streak of heat days at Coronado schools, Superintendent Karl Mueller announced the formation of a new committee to evaluate the feasibility, scope, and cost of retrofitting and installing HVAC systems across district facilities.
But it’s going to be expensive. And by expensive, we’re talking $40 million.
“Our buildings were built without the capacity to add air conditioning,” said Mueller at the school board meeting on Thursday, September 10. “This is a significant undertaking one year out of Basic Aid.”
The HVAC Exploratory Committee will likely include Mueller and Deputy District Superintendent Donnie Salamanca, school board trustees Renee Cavanaugh and Fitz Lee, technical experts like building engineers and HVAC consultants, CUSD staff, and community partners like Coronado Schools Foundation, parent teacher organizations, Emerald Keepers, and the City of Coronado.
The committee is scheduled to make a recommendation within 12 months.
Some of the work is already done. The district has conducted facilities studies in 2017, 2019, and 2021-2022.
“CUSD, in the last ten years, has engaged in a lot of studies,” said Mueller. “They’ve looked at our facilities and they’ve looked at costs.”
But when it comes to financing, the new Basic Aid funding — which will deliver an additional $10 to $12 million dollars a year in revenue to the district starting in fall of 2027. — will not cover the price tag.
“This is going to require a lot of creative thought and a lot of community involvement to really come up with some viable solutions to solve this problem long-term…” said Mueller. “It’s time for us to take a look at how we can begin to chip away at this in a meaningful, sustainable way.”
Mueller even referenced a newly expired voter-approved facilities bond, suggesting that such a funding source wasn’t off the table.
Trustee Alexia Palacios-Peters agreed the district needs to consider other funding sources, but encouraged the district to find a solution.
“It’s just time,” said Palacios-Peters. “It’s time for the district to move forward with this and be serious about it, and it’s going to take a lot of work and it’s going to take a lot of money, but it’s time to put that money into our facilities.”
Trustee Scot Youngblood said that any recommendations should include pricing and plans for solar energy. He said that the district should acquire competing bids from industrial solar companies for different scenarios.
“In my opinion, solar makes a lot of sense, especially in Southern California,” said Youngblood. “We spend about $600,000 a year with SDGE for power. With air conditioning, that could be more than one million.”
Trustees Lee and Mal Sandie agreed that solar needs to be a part of the equation.
Cavanaugh said there was “a lot to the problem” and it’s not as simple as just buying a portable air conditioner for each classroom. Mueller shared that, during a warm back-to-school night, many teachers ran their portable air conditioners at one school site. The building then lost power.
“Our electrical infrastructure couldn’t support those needs,” said Mueller.
He said the $40 million price includes things like electrical infrastructure, transformers, and the reinforcement of roofs to sustain the weight of additional duct works and solar panelling.
“I agree the timing is right,” said Mueller. “But this isn’t a project that will happen overnight, even if we were gifted $40 million from the community. This is going to take a lot of strategic planning.”
