First Phase of our 20-Year Capital Plan
Board Begins First Phase of Capital Planning
Our vision of “Involved Community, Competitive Students, Productive Citizens” is still a fundamental guiding principle to all of our work. It is also important to consider how our “We Believe” document guides our work. As we look at our capital plan and the necessary process, we are committed to aligning our decisions to the comprehensive best interest of our students.
At the October meeting of the Board of Education, the first phase of our capital improvement planning process began. The Board of Education started the process of prioritizing the work to be completed over the next 5 years. At future meetings, the Board will continue looking foward in order to develop a 20-year plan. In order to ensure our capacity to meet our infrastructure needs, we need to develop a comprehensive planning structure that bridges our financial planning at the same time. The final plan will have landmark fiscal years for each project, but there will be enough flexibility to allow responsiveness to the unanticipated.
Before we project forward, it is important to look backward. In the 1990’s, our Board of Education established a plan for growth and improvement to our facilities, with the key features being the addition at the Elementary and the new High School Building. The next evolution came in the mid-2000’s, where the board outlined a vision for the next 25 years.
Some examples of the work completed since 2006:
- Elementary
- Geothermal heating and air conditioning
- Roof replacement
- Renovation of our classrooms to match instructional methods
- New secure front entrance
- Junior High
- New HVAC system to provide regulated heat and air to all classrooms
- Roof replacement
- Renovation of our classrooms to match instructional methods
- Transformation of a classroom to an additional computer lab
- Locker repair/repaint
- New control system for the HVAC system
- High School
- Remodel and update existing locker rooms
- Media Center remodel
- New auxiliary gym and locker rooms
- New roof on existing locker rooms
- Greenhouse addition
- Purchase of LPA property and Center street property
- New control system for the HVAC system
- Outdoor
- Baseball & Softball updates, storage, lights, and batting cages (in partnership with the LeRoy Summer League)
- All Weather Running Track
- Paving the east lot at the Elementary
- Football Pressbox
- Expansion of our playground at the Elementary
- Seal and stripe our parking lots
- Added music department storage space
- Renovation of Baseball & Softball dugouts
Since the addition at the Elementary in mid-1990’s, there has been a lot of work done to our infrastructure, and in many ways, we are set for the next evolution of educational practice and student opportunity. We still have dreams of big projects worthy of our students, but we are also grounded in the necessary work. We would really like to see the Auditorium addition be a reality some day for our students and our community, but at the same time we need to be attentive to the growing needs and usefulness of existing facilities. Our outdoor facilities are typically the most visible to the public, but are only one piece of our broader plan. When you consider the work done in the last 15 years, our district has gone to great lengths to improve our instructional spaces, modernize our technology infrastructure, improve security, and bring air conditioning to all of our spaces.
At the October meeting, the Board started the initial phase of moving into the next 20 years. We have had a working document in development for several years. That working document included financial earmarks for specific projects to avoid the need for referendum, a listing of core life-safety projects, routine and regular projects based upon life expectancy of buildings and systems, outdoor facilities, and possible landmark referendum-based projects. These projects were grouped into two 5-year groupings, a 10-year grouping and a grouping of referendum-based projects in an effort to start the planning process for the next 20 years. While dates are attached, none of those dates are certain and, in some cases, not possible in the current fiscal reality, though still relevant to consider them in order to best plan and forecast the future.
We identified some core projects and areas of focus. While budgets are still being developed to ensure the execution of these projects, you can expect much of the following to occur over the next 5 years:
- Increased storage for our grounds and transportation department
- Maintenance to the gym roof at the high school
- Shade structures at Baseball/Softball Complex
- Repairs to the concrete drive at the LPA
- Bleachers at the Holderly Track Complex
- Final classroom renovations at the Elementary
- Final classroom renovations at the Junior High
- Resurfacing of the track and addition of a tower to allow for automated timing
- Elementary parking expansion
- Athletic field lighting projects (track and baseball)
The Board will continue this work over the next few months and a comprehensive plan will be presented at this year’s State of the Schools. It would be great if we had 100% certainty in any planning project, but, with a capital planning process such as this, there are so many variables beyond our control. We believe that the existence of a planning document is essential to increase the likelihood of effective and responsible execution of securing the sustainability of our facilities, and the role played by facility improvement in increasing student capacity, student opportunity, and student safety.
