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Investing in Our Future through Strategic Partnerships

Posted Date: 4/02/25 (2:00 PM)
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Investing in Our Future

Through Strategic Partnerships

April 2, 2025
 
Dear Vestavia Hills Families and Staff,

We’re excited to share with you a look at the progress being made to improve and enhance our facilities throughout Vestavia Hills City Schools. As we continue to improve our learning environments, we want to highlight the strategic funding approaches that have allowed us to make these valuable investments in our students’ future while being good stewards of our community’s resources.

Nearly all of our recent and current capital improvement projects are funded through state grants, bonds, and partnerships — not from the school system’s operational budget. Since 2020, Vestavia Hills City Schools has secured more than $37 million in external funding for capital improvements through various sources:

  • $8.2 million from the 2020 Public School and College Authority state bond issue
  • $15.9 million from Legislative appropriation of Advancement and Technology funds
  • $3.6 million from the Lieutenant Governor’s Capital Grant Program
  • $9.6 million from the Public School Fund
These funds have allowed us to make critical improvements without relying on local tax dollars. Our key investment areas include:

  • Energy Efficiency: At the conclusion of this summer, we will have invested $15.3 million in new LED lighting, HVAC upgrades, and other energy improvements that will improve the comfort and efficiency of our schools while also generating long-term savings for the school system.
  • Safety and Security: Student safety remains our top priority, and we’ve made $5.1 million of enhancements to modernize the safety and security of our buildings. This includes securing entrances, updating security systems, and expanding support for our school resource officers.
  • Technology Infrastructure: We’ve spent $2.9 million to upgrade our technology infrastructure and provide new equipment for classrooms. These improvements help to create modern learning environments which support innovative teaching and learning.
  • Athletics Facilities: We invested $2.3 million to improve shared community track and athletics spaces.
  • Library Renovations: We spent $601,000 to renovate libraries and create modern, collaborative media centers for our elementary students.
  • Remaining funds have been invested in buses, fine arts spaces, playground lighting, general maintenance, and debt service on previous capital projects.
Our Board of Education and system leadership have been proactive in identifying and securing external funding sources for these improvements. In fact, many of our energy efficiency projects will generate approximately $1.1 million in rebates by 2025, creating additional resources for our schools.

We believe these investments align with our community’s expectations for excellent facilities that support Learning Without Limits while also demonstrating fiscal responsibility. We remain committed to transparent communication about our financial decisions and will continue to provide updates as these projects take shape across Vestavia Hills City Schools. To learn more about our long range facility needs and estimated budget, you can go to the ClearGov website.

Thank you for your support of Vestavia Hills City Schools!