HELENA — At the monthly Helena Public School’s board meeting a presentation was given on the $51 million of deferred maintenance and needed repairs between Capital and Helena High Schools.
Since the start of 2022, the deferred maintenance report total inflation is 22 percent for Helena Public Schools.
Karen Ogden, the communications specialist for Helena Public Schools says, “Well, right now between our two high schools we have about 51 million dollars of deferred maintenance and under current level of annual facilities funding there is no way we could ever catch up with that.”
The average age of a Helena Public School building is 57 years old, with the oldest built in 1938. Because of this many facilities have been identified as needing repaired or replaced.
At both Helena High and Capital High HVAC, roofing and electrical are high priorities.
"Really the downside for students is that learning environments are less than optimal," Ogden says.
Helena High has one of two remaining steam systems in the district. It is serviced by three boilers but only two are operational. They have an efficiency of 45 to 55 percent. Many of the steam and return condensate pipes and fittings are failing.
Helena Public School Board of Trustees had the opportunity to see and touch piping that had been removed from Helena High.
In May voters failed to pass the district building reserve levy that was high-priority funds for deferred maintenance and building needs for both the elementary schools and high schools.
Ogden says, “We are really in an educational phase, educating the community about the level of need and putting options out there in terms of how we can best address this.”
Discussion of needed component replacement, full replacement, and a high school bond option that would fund a new Helena High School and improvements at Capital High. Tuesday's discussion presented the scope of deferred in Helena high schools and exploring potential solutions.
