Safety and Indoor Climate Upgrades to Take Place During the 2025-26 School Year

During the 2025-26 school year, work will get underway to address school safety and energy efficiency. Two sets of exterior doors will be replaced, located at the front of the school building.

The new doors will feature improved functionality and security, replacing the current old and worn doors. The school’s heating system will also undergo upgrades. Older and non-functioning system parts will be replaced to improve heating and ensure students and staff are provided with more comfortable spaces to learn and work.

In May 2025, voters approved the 2025-26 school budget, which authorized the district to spend up to $100,000 in capital transfer funds to cover the work. Capital transfer funds are used for high priority, smaller scale building and/or reconstruction projects in any of the district’s buildings or grounds.

The project was approved by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) in September. Following the design and bidding process, the district plans to have the doors replaced during one of its school breaks while students and staff are out of the building to minimize disruption. The heating system upgrades can be completed when school is in session as the work will be contained within areas that do not interfere with student activity. A more specific timeline of the work will be shared once it is finalized.

Renovations at the School and Bus Garage Scheduled for Summer 2026

Construction will begin next summer as part of the $8.6 million capital project that was approved by voters in May 2025. The project includes critical infrastructure, health, safety and security upgrades at the main school building and bus garage:

• School-wide lockdown system installation
• Intruder lock installation on classroom doors
• Roof replacements
• Heating and ventilation upgrades
• Sidewalk replacement/expansion
• Digital sign replacement

Pending NYSED approval, the district expects work to begin in June or July 2026.

The capital outlay project has continued to move forward on schedule. After receiving state approval in the fall, the project went out to bid in early December as a base bid with the doors as alternates. Bids were opened on January 6, and the Board of Education approved a contractor at its January 15 meeting. The timeline for completing the heating upgrades and exterior door will be coordinated with a school break, as previously shared.

Progress on the Larger 2026 Capital Project

We also continue to advance the larger $8.6 million capital project approved by voters in May 2025. This project includes major safety, security, and infrastructure improvements at both the main school building and the bus garage, such as a school‑wide lockdown system, intruder locks on classroom doors, roof replacements, heating and ventilation upgrades, sidewalk improvements, and a new digital sign.

In early December, the district submitted all required project documents to the New York State Education Department for review. Because each building requires its own submission, our plans entered the statewide review queue in three parts. The state has already begun reviewing one of the submissions, and we expect the full technical and fiscal review process to take several weeks. If all continues as expected, we anticipate receiving full state approval by early February, keeping us on track for construction to begin in summer 2026.