District maintenance director outlines $16M in SFB awards, multi‑school HVAC projects

Eric Hall, Humboldt Unified director of maintenance, briefed the governing board on the district’s use of Arizona School Facilities Division (SFD) building renewal grants, $16 million in projects currently earmarked and more than $9.5 million already paid out through the portal.

Hall said the district has submitted roughly 40 applications and received awards for numerous HVAC, roofing and boiler replacements, including large projects at Bradshaw Mountain High School, Bradshaw Mountain Middle School, Pronghorn Ridge, Mountain View and Humboldt Elementary. He said two boiler projects (Mountain View and Coyote Springs) are still being commissioned and require closeout work before final payments can be processed.

Hall emphasized the competitive nature of SFD funding and the importance of preventive‑maintenance documentation in grant decisions. He said staff uploads PM reports, photos of temperature readings and facility deficiency documentation to the SFD portal to support requests. Hall presented a project list and said several rooftop HVAC replacements and conversions from outdated swamp‑cooling systems are already underway; one gymnasium conversion at the high school is a multi‑million‑dollar SFD project.

Board members asked about staffing and the maintenance department’s capacity to manage multiple large projects and warranties. Hall said the district will do a gap analysis on staffing needs and that procurement and grant closeout work requires coordination across maintenance, procurement and campus administrators. Several trustees praised maintenance staff for detailed recordkeeping and proactive grant pursuit.