Mark Your Calendars:
- Public Hearing – 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15 (Joe Bena Hall)
- Community Vote – 1-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8 (Jr.-Sr. HS Media Center)
About a dozen community members attended a Centennial Capital Project facilities walk through on Thursday, October 6, to view areas intended to be part of Duanesburg Central School District’s next proposed capital project. The tour was led by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jim Niedermeier, with input from the district’s Director of Facilities, Aanen Aanensen.
The group met in front of the Duanesburg Jr.-Sr. High School and toured:
- Classrooms in need of improved ventilation, windows and millwork
- The kitchen/cafeteria, which has outdated kitchen equipment and very little natural light in the main dining area
- The first and second floors of the original 1925 Delanson High School building, which are in need of new floors, ventilation, classroom walls and windows
From there, the group traveled to the district’s bus garage/transportation office and walked over to the elementary playground:
- Exterior metal skin of the bus garage needs to be replaced
- Creation of an office for the transportation director
- Redo the common staff area in the transportation building
- Playground from 1993 will be removed and rebuilt (currently an insurance risk, with health and safety concerns associated with the original materials)
Next, the group toured the Elementary School:
- Exterior building facade and window repairs
- 3rd grade wing renovation (original to 1968)
- Cafeteria/kitchen, which has changed very little since the school was built in 1953
The Centennial Capital Project also includes repairs and renovations to items throughout the campus that are less visible to the eye, including roof replacement (past warranty), fire alarm replacement and new exit signs, a PA system at the Elementary School, electrical panel upgrades and a transformer replacement, and an upgrade to the domestic water piping system in the Jr.-Sr. High School.
The proposed $28 million Centennial Capital Project would be paid for using $6 million from the district’s capital reserve (savings), and by financing $22 million. The district’s financial advisors have currently projected that there will be no impact to the districts’ tax levy due to the anticipated reimbursement of building aid from NY state, in combination with securing financing at a time when the district is set to finish paying off debt from a previous capital project. The district’s administration, its construction managers at Schoolhouse Construction Services, and its architects at the Ashley McGraw firm have determined a scope that considers inflationary and cost escalation factors.
At Tuesday evening’s Board of Education’s regular business meeting (October 11), the board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to have the community vote on the proposed Centennial Capital Project on Thursday, December 8, 2022. Polls will be open from 1-9 p.m. and voting will take place in the Jr.-Sr. High School Media Center/Library. If you would like to apply for an absentee ballot, go to the district website for more information.
The community is invited to attend a public hearing at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, ahead of the Board of Education’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. That evening, the public will have the opportunity to ask questions about the project, before casting their vote on December 8.
If you would like to stay up to date on the Centennial Capital Project, the district has several resources available to you:
- All BOE meetings can be viewed on the district’s YouTube channel (DCS Eagles): https://bit.ly/3U9Jail
- All presentations from the BOE meeting can be found in the meeting agenda on Board Docs.
- The community is encouraged to stay up to date on the Centennial Capital Project through the district’s Transparency Center, which can be accessed on the homepage of the district’s website.