Why the Rush to Replace Patton Middle School?

Superintendent Sanville and the Middle School Feasibility Team have been working very hard to persuade the public to support building a new middle school. They’ve gone so far as to deceptively underestimate the cost of a new building, inflate the cost of the “Maintain” option (which addresses all of their concerns except for hallway size and sunlight), and totally ignore other options that would not address everything on their wish list, or would address them over a longer timeframe.

The False “Choices”

The Middle School Feasibility Team proposed three options to address the problems listed above:

• Maintain. Proposed Cost: $89 Million. Keep the current structure while upgrading the systems and spaces. This would not address the lack of sunlight in 70% of classrooms
• Renovate. Proposed Cost: $113 Million. Add a courtyard in the middle of the CFPMS and a new wing. This would address all of the issues, but the major construction could not be completed during the summer and would be a major disruption.
• Replace. Proposed Cost: $120 million. Demolish CFPMS and build a new building next to it.

When you review the District’s Feasibility Study and the other materials, or listen to the recorded presentations, you will notice that they all heavily favor the “Replace” option. They sound like sales presentations because they are. No one has shared an analysis of the cost or timing of completing the major renovations listed in the Maintain option.

The story arc of each presentation is: the current building is old and unfit (cue the stained ceiling tiles), “let’s build a new one”. However, to justify the $120 Million cost of a new building (really $260 million after financing) they’ve played fast and loose with the cost of maintaining the Charles F. Patton Middle School.

Here’s a quick tour:

• In the May 2024 Working Session, the Middle School Feasibility Team estimated it would cost $46 Million to maintain CFPMS for the next 30 years. Conspicuously, this estimate is absent from the UCFSD Middle School Feasibility website.

This upkeep addressed the following items:

• However, by the December 2024 meeting, the cost of the Maintain option had almost doubled to $89 Million for that same list of items. No explanation was given. Nothing to see here folks. Move along.

• During the December 2024 meeting, a participant asked about the time period for the Maintain option costs. It turns out the Feasibility Team had pulled forward 30 years of future costs of the Maintain option and included the future price today. (e.g., if a new HVAC unit costs $1 Million today and with inflation it will cost $2 Million in 20 years when they plan to replace it, the Feasibility Team captured the $2 million cost as a current expense.) After being called out, the District’s seasoned financial experts corrected this “mistake”¹ and adjusted the Maintain Option costs down to the current estimate of $68 Million.
• What will it really cost to “Maintain” the middle school? Superintendent Sanville, the Middle School Feasibility Team, and the UCFSD School Board claim they have spent more than a year carefully analyzing how to address the concerns with the current CFPMS building².
• But when asked by residents about the Maintain option, they simply referred to high level (non-detailed) estimates totaling $68 Million. Page 66 of the 200 page Feasibility Report shows a $6.8 Million cost for renovation of MEP (Mechanical, Electric, Plumbing) and $43.8 Million to renovate the remainder. No one knows how much of that is budgeted for the roof, ADA compliance, new ceiling tiles or the “chronic concerns” that Sanville cites as reasons to replace CFPMS.

Page 66 includes $2.6 million for a 5% design contingency even though the degree of design work should be much less for a maintenance option than for building a new school from the ground up. Engineers out there, please comment on whether this is appropriate.

So how much will it really cost to “Maintain” CFPMS? No one really knows. Even if it’s the entire $68 Million over 30 years, with the current Unionville High School debt being paid off in ~5 years, residents of the UCFSD might very well afford this without incurring any new financing. That brings the worst case cost comparison down to $68 Million over 30 years for the Maintain option (perhaps $89 million with inflation) versus the $260 Million (plus maintenance costs over 30 years) for the Replace option. That alone would save the District’s taxpayers $171 million ($18,200 to you personally) that the District could later seek from taxpayers, if needed, to improve education, retain and reward top teachers, or just leave in taxpayer’s pockets if unneeded.

What About the Environmental Impact?

The District has voiced a commitment to environmental initiatives and sustainability through various actions and statements. For example, the Board has supported the use of solar arrays and electric school buses that, in reality, have a marginally positive impact on the District’s carbon footprint.  

The District web site states that it incorporates sustainability into its long-range facilities planning and some of its curricula.

So, demolishing an existing school and building a new one directly conflicts with the District’s oft-stated objective to be more sustainable. Thousands of tons of debris from CFPMS will end up in a landfill. Estimates indicate that the carbon dioxide emissions related to the demolition of the old building and construction of a new building (including the manufacturing of all the materials it will require) can never be offset by the new building’s greater energy efficiency or implementation of affordable mitigation measures. On net, building a new building will undoubtedly be a burden on the environment. The renovation and maintain options have a much lower short-term and cumulative carbon footprint.

Contact the Board

Would you like to know the incremental benefits of spending $260 Million instead of $89 Million? Email ucfboard@ucfsd.net to ask the School Board. Just don’t hold your breath for any specifics.

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Footnotes

1 Was this a mistake? The time value of money is the central concept of finance. If a college Finance major made this mistake on the first test in the first semester of his/her freshmen year, s/he would be counseled out of the major to avoid flunking out.

2 The UCF School Board has repeatedly referred to how long and carefully they’ve studied the options for a middle school while ignoring the lack of information produced by those studies, and despite numerous requests from the public. Watch any of the recent School Board meetings. This is like asking for an A on an assignment because you spent a long time on it, even though you turned in a piece of junk.

Jan 6 Special Board Meeting

Jan 21 Board Meeting

Feb 10th Board Working Session

Feb 18th Board Meeting to vote on proceeding with an RFP to Replace CFPMS (e.g., Simonson 02:37:30)