Committee hears $5.1M estimate for boiler services and a wide discussion on contracting vs. hiring in‑house trades

Procurement staff presented a three‑year request for proposals for on‑call boiler services with an estimated total spend of $5,100,000 using a mix of capital and operational funds. The presenter emphasized the amount is an estimate and actual expenditures will depend on project scope and available funding.

Board Member Courtney Jackson asked how the district decides whether a project is charged to capital or operational funds. A district staff member replied: "When we look at the projects, the capital funds are gonna be, like, your major big projects, and the operational funds are usually for maintenance." Staff said capital pays for major projects while operational funds cover maintenance tasks, and decisions depend on the project’s nature.

Committee members pressed on whether district employment of plumbers and HVAC staff would be more cost‑effective than contracting. Superintendent Dr. Duran Blakey said recruiting and retaining highly technical trades staff has been difficult and noted market pay differences: "We are bound of, by the negotiated agreement and the compensation package therein... it has been a challenge to recruit and retain these highly technical positions internally… contractors are paying double what they would be making here at Albuquerque Public Schools." The committee then heard from Pat Dyer, the newly introduced Executive Director of Maintenance and Operations, who provided a breakdown of current staff and wage differentials: "Our senior tradesmen... start at about $24.67 an hour and we topped them out at around $40... our subcontractors are actually... starting at about $40 an hour... our competitors... top somewhere between $80 and $90 an hour."

Staff framed the district’s approach as a balance: use contractors for capacity and capital projects while attempting to recruit and train internal staff through existing apprenticeship programs. The committee included the boiler services item in its consent recommendation to the Board.