Building renovation project on track for a December vote

Residents at community forums in June offered many ideas for the BOE to study.

The community will likely consider a building renovation project that will impact all six schools and the athletic fields this December.

After months of studying a variety of issues and getting feedback from the community, the Board of Education this summer plans to put the finishing touches on a building project that would “finish the job” from the 1999 project and catch up on several newer concerns.

There will be community forums in the fall to explain the proposal before a tentative Tuesday, December 2 vote.

“It would be irresponsible of us not to consider several projects that were needed back in 1999 and that have only grown worse over the years,” said Superintendent Susan Swartz.

The project would not be as extensive as the 1999 project, however, since there will likely not be any building additions. The construction work being studied now involves reconstruction of current classroom space and renovations, many of them
deleted from the 1999 project to reduce costs at that time.

“Just as with your own home, you have to keep up on maintenance items and, every once in a while, replace a roof or spend some money to improve and update your property.”

Many issues to study
The Board of Education has studied items such as new roofs at the elementary
schools (except Glendaal’s, which is being done this summer), athletic fields and the running track, library, science labs and family and consumer science classrooms at the middle school and the technology classrooms at the middle and high schools.

As well, the school district’s computer network system has to be replaced because it is 10 years old and rapidly reaching the end of its life.

There are several items that were identified on a state-mandated building conditions survey last year.

During community forums in June, the board also heard of the loud, disruptive cooling and heating system at the high school library. Other comments during those forums and in emails to the district focused on the need to improve athletic fields, classrooms, the “open” middle school library, incorporating solar energy into the project, adding an audio system to the middle school auditorium and a host of other issues.

Those comments are posted at Scotia- GlenvilleSchools.org.

EXCEL funding
The state has provided EXCEL (EXpanding our Childrens Education
and Learning) funding to all school districts in New York. It is actually not
part of the state budget; it is money the state Dormitory Authority has been authorized to borrow on behalf of
all districts.

Scotia-Glenville would be eligible for about $935,000 in EXCEL funding. Combining the EXCEL funding with the district’s typical building aid (which reimburses about 81 percent of the district’s cost), approximately $4.2 million in renovation projects could be done with no local cost. Athletic fields do not qualify under EXCEL funding.

“We are trying to come up with a way to include some athletic field work without a tremendous burden on the community,” said Swartz.

By renovating classrooms and doing other construction work, the district would receive state aid that could be used to offset the fields’ cost.