For the last year and a half, the Cazenovia School Board has been soliciting community input to develop a “balanced” capital project that will include health and safety updates, upgrades to facilities and projects to facilitate growth of programs such as music, agriculture and physical education.
The public will get a chance to hear about the proposed project in detail at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2 in the high school band room. The project will be up for vote on Thursday, Dec. 11.
The board looked at many options including building a new school, but after evaluating a reevaluated the district’s needs, they settled a project that assistant superintendent William Furlong said addresses major issues in all of the buildings.
“We looked at what would be nice versus what we really need,” he said. According to Furlong, after conducting a community survey, meeting with parent groups and teachers, and evaluating the facilities’ needs, the scope was narrowed and everything that was deemed not necessary was eliminated.
“This is a well balanced project. The board worked extremely hard for the last two years to be fiscally responsible,” Superintendent Robert Dubik said.
The cost of the project is approximately $12.5 million, with a local cost share of $3.2 million. This will result in a 0.5 percent tax levy increase, equating to less than 10 cents per thousand of assessed value, according to Dubik.
This came in the wake of the capital project voted down in December 2006. Furlong and Dubik said that the inclusion of turf and new lights for the athletic field might have been a major sticking point for voters. Neither of those are included in this project.
Major points in the project include:
Health and safety updates: upgrades to fire systems, security cameras, asbestos abatement and replacement of carpets.
Facilities upgrades: new windows at Burton Street (the current windows were installed in the early 1970’s), new air handling units at Burton Street.
Growth of programs: New band room (The current band room only allows 70 people to comply with the fire code, there are currently 93 students enrolled in the band.), a renovated agriculture room, and new track surface.
The public will have two chances to hear information on the project and make comments before the Dec. 11 vote. The project will be discussed Nov. 17 at the regular board meeting and at the information session Dec. 2. Detailed information will be published in the Blue & Gold newsletter sent to district residents–regardless if they have a child in the school system and is available on the district’s Web site at caz.cnyric.org under “Special Note.”
