Warm, Safe, Dry: Work Completed and What Remains
Warm, Safe, Dry: Work Completed and What Remains
Batavia Public School District 101’s Warm, Safe, Dry initiative addresses the minimum work needed to keep existing school buildings safe, functional, and reliable. It includes heating and ventilation, roofs, piping, fire alarms, entrances, and other essential building systems.
The District has completed or substantially completed approximately $26.5 million in capital improvements, including Warm, Safe, Dry work and separate projects. Significant maintenance needs remain, along with broader learning-environment improvements that Warm, Safe, Dry does not address.
What does the plan include?
Following the unsuccessful facilities referendums in 2022 and 2023, the Board narrowed its focus to essential work on existing buildings. It approved the $48.1 million Warm, Safe, Dry plan in December 2023.
The District’s required ten-year Health/Life Safety review was underway when the plan was adopted. Its findings further defined the work and identified additional needs.
Warm, Safe, Dry focuses on maintaining buildings and replacing failing systems. Completing it would not deliver the broader classroom and educational improvements identified through the District’s facilities-planning process.
What has been completed?
Work at H.C. Storm and Louise White addressed essential building and safety needs, including their identified Health/Life Safety items. All District schools now have secure vestibule entrances. H.C. Storm also received separate access for buses and family vehicles, while work at Batavia High School included maintenance of exterior precast panels.
These projects addressed basic maintenance, safety, and building operations. They did not modernize classrooms or resolve the schools’ broader facility needs. H.C. Storm and Louise White still have substantial needs beyond the work completed.
Separately from Warm, Safe, Dry, the District completed other capital projects:
- Flooring replacement at Alice Gustafson and J.B. Nelson.
- Learning resource center improvements at Rotolo Middle School, Batavia High School, and Louise White.
- Kindergarten classroom additions and modifications at H.C. Storm and Louise White to support full-day kindergarten, which began this school year.
The learning resource center and kindergarten projects provided targeted improvements to learning spaces. Most other completed work maintained existing facilities.
The approximately $26.5 million completed total includes both WSD and non-WSD projects. Residents can view photos and updates on the District’s summer construction page.
What remains?
The remaining program includes the following major needs:
| Location | Remaining work |
| Alice Gustafson Elementary | Classroom heating and ventilation replacement, roofing, and door-closing and fire-protection improvements. |
| Batavia High School | Classroom heating and ventilation replacement, a new fire alarm system, C-wing exterior and roof work, domestic-water piping, and parking, concrete, and electrical improvements. |
| Grace McWayne Elementary | Repairs to fire-resistant barriers and electrical-panel replacement. |
| Hoover-Wood Elementary | Parking improvements, electrical-panel replacement, and door-closing and fire-protection repairs. |
| J.B. Nelson Elementary | Heating and cooling equipment, mechanical and domestic-water piping, parking, and related safety improvements. |
| Rotolo Middle School | Classroom heating and ventilation replacement, a new fire alarm system, northwest parking lot and site electrical work, and related safety improvements. |
| Rosalie Jones Administration Center | Roof replacement. |
The next major projects being planned are mechanical improvements at J.B. Nelson and classroom heating and ventilation replacement in Batavia High School’s C-wing. J.B. Nelson’s original piping has deteriorated after more than 70 years of service. The high school’s aging classroom units have experienced increasingly frequent failures and difficulty maintaining consistent temperatures.
Planning targets initial construction during summer 2027. Final scope, cost, and phasing will depend on proposals, available funding, and Board approval.
How will the remaining work be funded?
The September Board review identified approximately $30.6 million to $32.9 million in remaining work before updated construction-cost increases. These figures largely reflect earlier planning estimates, not current bids or final project budgets.
The original plan, completed spending, and remaining estimates cover different scopes and price dates. Completed spending includes projects outside Warm, Safe, Dry, while the remaining program incorporates findings from the Health/Life Safety review. Subtracting the completed total from the original estimate would therefore misstate the remaining need.
The District’s funding plan combines available fund balance, operating funds, and proposed Health/Life Safety bonds. Even together, these resources would not cover all remaining needs.
HLS bonds could fund eligible, state-approved work, principally heating and ventilation equipment and fire alarm systems. They would be repaid through property taxes, with interest and issuance costs. Other work would still require District funds or a separate funding decision.
Reserves and operating funds also support school operations, cash flow, and unexpected expenses. Spreading construction over more years reduces immediate spending but leaves aging systems in service longer and exposes future projects to higher costs.
What happens next?
The Board has discussed the remaining work and funding through a series of public meetings dating back to April. On October 20, it directed the administration to proceed with planning for potential HLS bonds. A public hearing will take place during the November 17 regular Board meeting. No final decision to issue bonds has been made.
The District will continue to update costs, prioritize projects, and schedule work as funding becomes available. Completing Warm, Safe, Dry would address essential building needs. Broader improvements to learning environments would remain a separate, unresolved need.
Residents can review Board meeting materials, the September funding update, and the closer look at J.B. Nelson and Batavia High School’s building systems.