The Mount Airy (North Carolina) district is facing a mounting infrastructure crisis because the geothermal heating and cooling system at Mount Airy High School is failing after more than two decades of service.
The Greenville Daily Reflector reports that Superintendent Phillip Brown explained to the Surry County Board of Commissioners the immediate safety concerns and the long-term facility needs that could cost taxpayers millions.
The high school's geothermal HVAC system, installed in the early 2000s, has been experiencing failures. The district now seeks to "get out of the ground" and transition to either a cooling tower system or an alternative heating and air system.
What began as a $1 million project estimate just a few years ago has ballooned to $4 million because of changing market conditions and inflation.
The system serves two connected buildings — the main building and a newer math and science wing. The math and science wing system has had fewer failures and could potentially last another five years, but Brown said that because the systems are interconnected, both would need to be replaced simultaneously for maximum efficiency.
The district has about $800,000 in lottery capital funds that could be applied to the HVAC replacement, but this falls significantly short of the $4 million needed.
The district has applied for a needs-based public school capital fund grant of $3.9 million, which would require a local match of about $194,000. However, because it has received similar grants in 2021-22 and 2022-23 totaling about $4.7 million, the district would hold a low priority status in the competitive state funding process.
