Johnston welcomes new HVAC team

JOHNSTON, Ia. (Nov. 23, 2022) — If you see a truck with the Johnston Dragon emitting a big fireball, it’s our new HVAC team! The Johnston Community School District welcomed a new HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) department in the 2022-23 school year.

Scott Underwood is the BAS (building automation system) Controls Manager who works with building automation hardware and software. Matthew Stout does mechanical repairs to the HVAC equipment.

Both team members have extensive experience in their field. Stout most recently worked at Drake University, where he was an HVAC mechanic for the past four years. He previously worked as Director of Maintenance at the Iowa Jewish Senior Life Center for a decade, and provided maintenance at the Holiday Inn Airport a decade prior to that.

Underwood previously worked as a service project manager at the Baker Group in Ankeny, as a Division (Service) Manager at Cunningham Inc. in Oskaloosa and as an installation project manager, service project manager ad system representative at Johnston Controls Inc.

Together, the two maintain, troubleshoot and repair the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems of the Johnston Community School District’s five elementary schools, two middle schools, high school, District Office, technology building, transportation building, and building and grounds facility. They join with Bob Devens, the Director of Buildings and Grounds, and all head/lead custodians to complete both previous projects and upcoming projects.

The new team was instrumental in the implementation and execution of the district’s new MaintainX preventative maintenance software program, as well as a newly signed contract with Specialty Underwriters insurance to receive reimbursements for repair and replacement work that are completed either in-house or through local contracts.

Additionally, the team investigates and troubleshoots the fire alarm systems at each building. They are responsible for the environmental conditioning of over 1.5 million square feet of facilities to support the district’s staff and students.