New cooling tower installed at Maplewood Elementary

Maplewood Elementary is getting an update to its cooling tower! HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems are vital in maintaining a comfortable and conducive environment for students and staff and ensuring healthy air quality within public school buildings.  

Last school year, one of two coil sets in Maplewood's cooling tower failed, reducing our ability to maintain cooler temperatures in the building. On the 11th, crews installed a new left-side coil to Maplewood's cooling tower; as you can see, it was a big job. 

PSD's Capital Projects and Operations teams maintain more than 47 HVAC systems across the district. They are vital components to maintaining comfortable environments to support teaching and learning. According to industry standards, cooling towers over 15-20 years old may need to be replaced. The current cooling tower at Maplewood was installed in 1997, which means it is already 26 years old, exceeding standards.  

Major maintenance and replacement of our building's critical systems are a large part of the capital budget. As our buildings experience more wear and tear due to aging and growing enrollment, it becomes even more vital to care for our district assets. As it stands, PSD's current capital budget, the budget responsible for major maintenance, renovation, and construction projects, will run out in 2026 without any additional bond or levy funding.  

Did you know?

Puyallup School District supports 297 HVAC systems district-wide, and the average age of those systems is 23 years.

Our maintenance team maintains 47 site-building HVAC systems (22 Elementary schools, 11 Secondary schools, seven administrative buildings, and six support sites), and the HVAC in their shop is the oldest in the district—63 years old! They also care for 221 Portable Classroom BARD (wall-mounted) HVAC Systems.

Pretty impressive, right?