PSFA executive director says agency is 'drowning' under workload; FY26 awards pushed to June to ease backlog

The Public School Facilities Authority told the Public School Capital Outlay Task Force that a surge in project requests has left the agency overstretched and prompted a temporary delay of FY26 awards.

PSFA Executive Director told the task force that PSFA is managing about 196 active projects statewide and received 83 letters of intent in the FY26 cycle. "We're drowning," the director said, describing significant turnover, unusually high caseloads for senior project managers and long training timelines for new staff. He said the agency has about $1.5 billion in active projects and is preparing material for roughly 50 awards that will be presented to the Public School Capital Outlay Council on June 11.

Why it matters: PSFA oversees state capital projects that affect school construction and renovations. Staff shortages and big swings in award volume can delay district planning and construction timelines, potentially pushing project milestones beyond intended windows for summer or winter work.

The director said PSFA secured a $2.5 million supplemental appropriation this year to bring in contract support, administrative help and short-term training while pursuing a larger, recurring operational increase. "We did secure $2.5 million to bring in immediate support," he said, adding the cost of third-party project management can run about 2% of a project's total cost.

Nut graf — approach to fix it: The director outlined a four-step plan: 1) hire interim contract project managers and admin staff; 2) push the FY26 award timeline to allow vetting and onboarding; 3) issue an RFP for contract support; and 4) work with council and legislators to grow permanent FTE capacity long-term. He told members he plans a more aggressive FY28 operational budget request to convert temporary roles to permanent positions if funding allows.

Members pressed PSFA on specifics. Stan Rounds, representing education leaders, warned that delays ripple through district planning: "A 3 month delay can create 5 years out, an entire 1 year delay in a district for bringing on a necessary facility," he said, and asked which projects were delayed. The director confirmed that the entire award process was pushed by about three months and that system-based projects (which must be performed during school breaks) were most affected; standard planning and design awards are less likely to cause immediate classroom disruption.

Operational detail and hiring needs: The director said PSFA ideally would add roughly 30 regional project managers but faces market and budget constraints. He reported six current vacancies and interviews underway for regional manager positions; in the interim PSFA will use statewide temporary services for administrative support to reduce backlog and accelerate project moves through the agency's workflow.

Other program notes: PSFA said it allocated about $10.2 million in round one of the community benefit fund and expects round two to open in June. The agency noted a $60 million allocation for EV school bus funding across several years, and said lease-assistance programming for FY27 could total about $30 million (contingent on council approval). PSFA also is pursuing bond reconciliation work to identify uncommitted balances and plans a revision of the adequacy planning guide.

Next steps: The PSFA presenter said vetted FY26 awards will go before PSCOC on June 11. The task force adopted its interim work plan and tentatively scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 13. The public-comment period produced no speakers and the chair closed the meeting.

Sources: Remarks and slides presented to the Public School Capital Outlay Task Force. All quotes and attributions are drawn from task force discussion during the PSFA staffing and FY26 overview presentation.