After two public hearings with only a few Batavia City School District residents in attendance, the majority made their opinions known Thursday by a vote of 315 to 97 in favor of the $45 million capital project, district officials said.
The vote means that the capital project will proceed in 2024 to install two synthetic turf fields for the high school, a baseball and softball field each, and upgrades for every school building within the city school district.
District officials applauded the support, including school board Vice President John Reigle, who said that he was “very pleased and proud” about the results of the district’s Reimagined capital project vote.
“Our leadership team did a great job promoting the project and explaining the many benefits of the project to our community,” Reigle said to The Batavian Thursday night. “This is a great step towards ensuring our district keeps the high standards that our district students and community expect and deserve. I’d like to thank the community for their support in voting to approve this capital project for our district.”
Likewise, board member Alice Ann Benedict was also pleased with the results and thanked the community for its demonstration of support for the project.
“I am thrilled with the overwhelming support of the BCSD Capital Project. The project was well-advertised and explained to the community over the last number of weeks. We’ve had a lot of feedback, mostly positive, from the community,” Benedict said to The Batavian. “I am always pleased when the voting community supports the recommendations of the Superintendent and administrators. Keeping our buildings safe and up-to-date is the most important part of this project because our students and staff are the most important users of these buildings. There are numerous safety improvements included for all of the schools.
“With most of the questions coming because of the artificial turf cost on two fields, our athletes can be out on the fields a lot earlier because this project will improve the drainage issues our district fields suffer with,” she said. “We have also heard positive feedback about the moving of the grades, especially fifth grade back to John Kennedy.”
The BCSD Reimagined Project's next phase will include engaging in the contractor bid process over the next 12 months, and the district expects the first phase of construction to begin in the spring of 2025. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the 2027 calendar year. BCSD will provide additional updates and project details to the Batavia community as they become available, officials said in a press release issued Thursday night.
“Thank you to the Batavia community for your steadfast support in passing our BCSD Reimagined Capital Improvement Project,” Superintendent Jason Smith said in the release. “With this initiative, we will address essential infrastructure needs across all of our buildings. These funds will also help us convert Robert Morris into a modern early childhood education center and enhance our athletic fields for year-round use. Your vote reflects a deep commitment to our students and schools' ongoing improvement and future success.”
Board President John Marucci added, “We are profoundly grateful to the Batavia community for their support, to our Batavia City School District leadership for their visionary guidance in spearheading this important project, and to our collaborative construction partners and Buildings and Grounds Committee, who played an integral role in its conception.”
“It's a remarkable achievement to bring this project to fruition with a zero percent tax increase, reflecting our shared commitment to fiscal responsibility and educational excellence,” Marucci said. “This collective support and collaboration are invaluable in shaping a brighter future for the Batavia City School District students.”
District residents approved Oakfield-Alabama Central School's $23 million capital project in a vote of 129 to 114 Monday, district officials say.
The official voting results were tallied by 9 p.m. Monday for the capital project of $23,065,000 for construction to update the middle-high school instructional spaces -- science labs, technology, agriculture, art, FACS, and STEAM, repair the HVAC systems, and construct a new community multi-purpose field including a new eight-lane track with high-grade artificial turf.
Included in this project are upgrades to the district's varsity baseball/softball infields with artificial turf, new concessions with an outdoor accessible bathroom facility, and additional parking adjacent to the new multi-purpose stadium.
Architect Brian Trott explains the artificial turf as Batavia resident Herb Schroeder listens during the city school district's capital project hearing Thursday at Batavia High School. Photo by Joanne Beck
Of the nine people at Thursday’s Batavia City Schools capital project public hearing, only one was a district resident who came to hear the presentation.
The remaining people in the auditorium were district staff, board members and an architect from the project design team. Although Herb Schroeder was the lone attendee, he came armed with a list of questions about the $45 million district-wide project.
Is this being paid for with a grant? No. $6.9 million is coming from capital reserves, and the remainder of $38 million from a loan, to be paid back with reimbursement from the state.
What if the state reneges? It’s a lot for the taxpayers to handle if the state reneges. None of the presenters had ever heard of the state backing out of its commitment to reimburse a district for a capital project. These projects must be approved by the state Education Department after voter approval.
Have you looked into the price of traditional turf (in addition to the artificial turf that’s part of the capital project)? No. Superintendent Jason Smith wasn’t saying that he wouldn’t look into it, but from everything that coaches and the Clark Patterson Lee team have advised, artificial is the way to go to help address the drainage issues with the fields at Batavia High School, Smith said.
“Drainage issues are going to be a problem no matter what you do … it’s a lot of money, that’s my biggest pet peeve,” Schroeder said.
Even professional associations are considering going back to natural turf after some athletes have gotten injured on the artificial material, he said.
The plan calls for two synthetic turf fields for the high school, a baseball and softball field each, for about $7 million of the total cost. A proposed turf field at Van Detta Stadium upset a fair number of people — prospective tax-paying voters — so The Batavian had previously asked Smith why turf for the high school.
The fields behind the State Street site have been prone to excess water and drainage issues for years, he said, since the school was built on a swamp. “We have received complaints from families,” he said and had to move several games to Genesee Community College as a result.
Synthetic turf raises the playing field, alleviates pooling water, and provides “a better quality playing field for the kids,” he said. Installing this type of material would permanently fix the swamping issue, he said.
“Most of us don’t see it as a luxury anymore,” he said.
Robert Morris was closed in 2011 due to declining enrollment, so what are your projections for the next five years? Enrollment is flat, with a slight increase at Robert Morris with the universal pre kindergarten, pre-school and pre-school special education programs enrolling kids ages 3 to 5.
After using the one reserve for this project, are there any reserves left? Yes and no, Smith said.
“Man, that’s a politician,” Schroeder said with a small chuckle.
Business Administrator Andrew Lang explained that there are some reserves already in place, including a teacher’s and employee’s retirement system reserve, and a reserve that the district created this past budget season to begin building up an account for future needs. This project, however, will drain this one particular reserve of $6,928,000.
A shift from getting a grant to borrowing the money “scares me,” Schroeder said, but he pledged his support.
“I’m going to vote for your project,” he said.
This was the second presentation in the last two weeks, with the first one drawing only about three or four people. Board President John Marucci isn’t concerned about the low attendance. In fact, he believes it’s a testament to the district’s competence in disseminating the information and answering questions sufficiently before next week's vote.
“I guess I was a little worried walking in and seeing that there's only one person here. But the more I thought about it, the more I think the community is comfortable with the job that we did. They're happy with what we've done. And I think the vote next week will show that it'll pass with flying colors,” Marucci said. “If this would have been a full auditorium, I would have been real worried. Just because that would tell me that, I think, there might be some people that have some real questions on the job we've done. I think just seeing the one gentleman here tonight asking some great questions, that just showed that I think the community has paid attention to the flyers that we put out, the videos we put out, and they're happy with what we've done.”
As for what seemed to be one of Schroeder’s biggest sticking points, the artificial turf, not only has that not been a major complaint, but many people have wanted to see more of it installed throughout the district, Smith said.
“When I talk to the teams and the coaches, they’re excited about it. Also, I should have mentioned it will give us more practice area for our soccer team to practice on because our soccer team does play on turf at Van Detta, so they like to practice on turf,” he said. “It's not a full soccer field, but they can still get that turf experience of playing on turf, which they do at Van Detta and other schools, so there's more benefit besides just softball and baseball.”
Board Vice President John Reigle agreed, adding that the artificial field raises up the playing surface and helps to get the players out of a flooded field.
“It’s a great asset for the district,” Reigle said.
The project will also involve some reconfiguration of grade levels. Kindergarten will move from Jackson Primary to Robert Morris; second grade will move from John Kennedy Intermediate to Jackson and fifth grade will move to John Kennedy from the middle school.
The district performs a building conditions survey every five to seven years, and the architect Clark Patterson Lee recommended a detailed scope of work that was prioritized from one to three, Smith had said in a prior interview, with mostly ones and twos being chosen for the project. Much of the work is being done to shore up 20-year-old infrastructure, such as the high school’s boiler system, roof, and the gym at Robert Morris.
Nothing is on the list to be expanded, such as extra classrooms or other such student space, which makes sense according to enrollment projections. By the district's calculations, total enrollment topped out at 2,383 in 2013 and fluctuated until it peaked for the last time in 2020 at 2,190, declining to 1,978 in 2023. Estimated total enrollment will be 1,933 in 2024, 1,902 in 2025, 1,880 in 2026 and 1,858 by 2027.
All of the schools have many of the same upgrades, including PA/clock and fire alarm replacements, phone system replacement, blue light notification system, information technology infrastructure improvements and pavement replacement for Jackson, John Kennedy, and the middle and high schools.
Jackson is also in line for building-mounted lighting and the replacement of a failing retaining wall on the east side between the school and its neighbors. John Kennedy would also get a new roof, an upgraded gym divider curtain and regraded softball field and other amenities.
Batavia Middle School “is getting the most renovations to the interior space,” Smith had said, “where it’s needed.”
“The whole school really needs a lot of work; it’s a historic, beautiful building, and we're trying to home in on that to give it the attention it needs,” he said. “I think that foundation repairs is an example of that.”
The breakdown of the $45 million is:
BHS - $16,965,918
BMS - $9,740,584
John Kennedy - $6,852,018
Jackson - $1,779,991
Robert Morris - $9,537,600
Richmond Memorial Library - $184,375
The project is to have no additional tax increase for district residents, officials said.
Voting will take place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 14 at designated sites, depending on where you live.
For residents living north of Route 5 (Main Street), vote at Robert Morris, 80 Union St., in the Multi-Purpose Room. For residents living south of Route 5, vote at Batavia High School, 260 State St., in the library.
City school board members have set the date for district residents to vote on a capital project that officials say is about bolstering more so than expanding. Voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on the $45 million plan on Dec. 14.
During a series of votes Monday related to the capital project, from authorizing the district to borrow the necessary amount for the work to set a calendar for voter registration, the school board moved the capital project forward with architect Clark Patterson Lee in the audience.
Board members didn’t comment on the project, however, Superintendent Jason Smith had previously said that the scope of work focused on shoring up existing facilities and properties, some of which are 20 years old, including the high school’s boiler system and roof, and the gym at Robert Morris.
All of the schools have many of the same upgrades, including PA/clock and fire alarm replacements, phone system replacement, blue light notification system, information technology infrastructure improvements, and pavement replacement for Jackson, John Kennedy, and the middle and high schools.
Jackson is also in line for building-mounted lighting and the replacement of a failing retaining wall on the east side between the school and its neighbors. John Kennedy would also get a new roof, an upgraded gym divider curtain, and regraded softball field, and other amenities.
Batavia Middle School is in store for a gender-neutral restroom, staff restroom, foundation repairs around the entire building, and a glass safety railing for the auditorium balcony are some of those repairs and upgrades.
A building conditions survey prompted the glass railing because people sitting on the balcony could also be a potential safety concern, Smith and former Business Administrator Scott Rozanski had previously said.
The middle school softball field is to receive some improvements and a backstop replacement while Batavia High School is on tap for a new roof, plus two synthetic turf fields — a baseball and softball field each, for about $7 million of the total cost.
The breakdown of funding is as follows, with the cost to taxpayers to be no additional tax dollars, officials said.
Project Referendum Amount: $45,060,486 State Building Aid Reimbursement: $38,132,486 Capital Reserve Contribution: $6,928,000 Annual increase to taxpayers: $0
A proposed $45 million city school district capital project would make way for the fifth grade to move back to John Kennedy, for student-athletes to run bases on a synthetic field at the high school and for buildings to be upgraded and equipped with emergency blue light phones, Superintendent Jason Smith says.
The project is not about expansion, rather, it’s about ensuring that the facilities are maintained or improved for all five district buildings plus Richmond Memorial Library, Smith said Monday afternoon before reviewing the plan during the board of education’s meeting.
“We want to take care of our facilities and our property, I think we all want that for our families and students. More than one community member has come up to me and said, ‘You know, we like to see our money is being spent wisely. We want to see our dollars being put to good use.’ I've heard that many times, not just from families or not just from parents, but from community members,” Smith said. “We’re seeking to enhance what we already have and make the necessary improvements to the roofs, to the upgrades, to the IT. We're not seeking to expand, we're seeking to take care of what we currently have. And we're also with, with the reconfiguration, we're really trying to emphasize the importance of early childhood education.”
The district performs a building conditions survey every five to seven years, and the architect Clark Patterson Lee recommended a detailed scope of work that was prioritized from one to three, Smith said, with mostly ones and twos being chosen for the project. Much of the work is being done to shore up 20-year-old infrastructure, such as the high school’s boiler system, roof, and the gym at Robert Morris.
Nothing is on the list to be expanded, such as extra classrooms or other such student space, which makes sense according to enrollment projections. By the district's calculations, total enrollment topped out at 2,383 in 2013, and fluctuated until it peaked for the last time in 2020 at 2,190, declining to 1,978 in 2023. Estimated total enrollment will be 1,933 in 2024, 1,902 in 2025, 1,880 in 2026 and 1,858 by 2027.
As for Robert Morris, which had some tweaks last year to ready it for a reopening in the fall, “We keep addressing the needs,” Business Administrator Scott Rozanski said.
“Since it’s been vacant for 10 years,” he said of the former elementary school site at Union Street and Richmond Avenue.
Work there would include meeting and evaluation room renovations, dedicated teacher lunch and work rooms with unisex restrooms, gym renovations, masonry repairs, fire alarm replacements and playground improvements.
There's "significant grant funding" earmarked for early childhood education, and school officials are trying to best use those resources and focus on those early learning years. While that focuses much attention on Robert Morris, officials also reviewed the grade separations at John Kennedy and the middle school, Smith said. "We knew parents were upset" when fifth-graders were moved over to BMS, he said, so "we also want to return the fifth grade to John Kennedy."
All of the schools have many of the same upgrades, including PA/clock and fire alarm replacements, phone system replacement, blue light notification system, information technology infrastructure improvements and pavement replacement for Jackson, John Kennedy, and the middle and high schools.
Jackson is also in line for building-mounted lighting and the replacement of a failing retaining wall on the east side between the school and its neighbors. John Kennedy would also get a new roof, an upgraded gym divider curtain and regraded softball field and other amenities.
Batavia Middle School “is getting the most renovations to the interior space,” Smith said, “where it’s needed.”
“The whole school really needs a lot of work; it’s a historic, beautiful building, and we're trying to home in on that to give it the attention it needs,” he said. “I think that foundation repairs is an example of that.”
A gender-neutral restroom, staff restroom, foundation repairs around the entire building, and a glass safety railing for the auditorium balcony are some of those repairs and upgrades. The conditions survey prompted the glass railing because people sitting in the balcony could also be a potential safety concern, he and Rozanski admitted.
“It’s the best seat in the house, in my opinion, but we want to make sure that it's well protected and safe for our students,” Smith said.
The middle school softball field will also receive some improvements and a backstop replacement.
Batavia High School is on tap for a new roof, and for anyone paying attention, in December 2021, the school did receive some patchwork after a mini twister blew off a portion of it. However, a large portion of the roof needs replacing, Rozanski said, and that’s what is scheduled in this capital project.
Current students ought to like this next part: two synthetic turf fields planned for the high school, a baseball and softball field each, for about $7 million of the total cost. A proposed turf field at Van Detta Stadium upset a fair number of people — prospective tax-paying voters — so The Batavian asked Smith why turf for the high school.
The fields behind the State Street site have been prone to excess water and drainage issues for years, he said, since the school was built on a swamp. “We have received complaints from families,” he said and had to move several games to Genesee Community College as a result.
Synthetic turf raises the playing field, alleviates pooling water, and provides “a better quality playing field for the kids,” he said. Installing this type of material would permanently fix the swamping issue, he said.
“Most of us don’t see it as a luxury anymore,” he said.
While yes, the work is warranted and will maintain all of the facilities, the more important selling point is the cost to taxpayers, he said.
“Most of that is from state aid, the rest from our reserves,” he said. “So there'll be no additional taxes as a result of this project.”
A note about gender-neutral bathrooms, which are slated to be installed or to replace bathrooms at the middle and high schools.
Gender-neutral bathrooms are something found in older grades, and not at John Kennedy and Jackson, Smith said. They are part of board policy and Title IX regulations. Under Title IX, discrimination based on a person’s gender identity, a person’s transgender status, or a person’s nonconformity to sex stereotypes constitutes discrimination based on sex. As such, prohibiting a student from accessing the restrooms that match [their] gender identity is prohibited from sex discrimination under Title IX. There is a public interest, by federal policy, in ensuring that all students, including transgender students, have the opportunity to learn in an environment free of sex discrimination.
The board is expected to vote on the capital project in October, with a public vote to be in December to ensure enough time to go out for bid in 2024 and schedule work to begin 2024-25. The project completion is estimated for the end of 2027.
Out of all the exciting upgrades and renovations happening at Oakfield-Alabama School District, it’s perhaps the middle-high school revamp that will be of most importance.
The Lewiston Road school hasn’t exactly stood out to folks up to now, Superintendent John Fisgus says.
“We really need a front entrance at the middle-high school. We're going to have a huge lighted sign out front that says Home of the Hornets, so it'll be branded, where you can't miss it. If you've never been to our campus, it's hard to find. So we wanted to really make it welcoming and obvious to people when they pull in here, where the front entrance of the Middle-High School is,” Fisgus said Thursday to The Batavian. “We’re excited about all this work —- Currently, right now they're in the process of demo’ing the front entrance to our Middle-High School. It is a mess, but it's progress.”
That “progress” is part of a $15.3 million capital project approved by district voters in 2020. After nailing down the blueprints, contractors and plan of action, the work has been evolving at both the elementary and middle-high schools, with a completion date of this August.
The district’s goals were to improve safety and security at the schools, meet building codes and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, complete mechanical and electrical infrastructure, and landscape upgrades.
District officials presented the plan as a “tax neutral” project, due in large part to state aid, with remaining costs paid for with capital reserves money. All of the dirt, commotion and periodic disruption from equipment will be worth it in the end, Fisgus said.
“We are redoing our Middle-High School main office, the guidance and mental health suites, we're redoing the front entrance here, to make it a more secure vestibule. All of the windows in the middle-high school building are being replaced with tinted windows and brand new frames and colors. So it's not the old green 1950s stuff.
“A majority of the work has been completed at the elementary school,” he said, including cafeteria, stage and kitchen redesign and reconstruction and a new main office area with a secure vestibule and entrance so that visitors will remain behind a locked door once buzzed into the building.
“There are still some minor things that, whether we're waiting on warm temperatures to finish the front entrance, or that we redid the elementary cafeteria and some of the flooring needs to wait to be done over the summer because it's a major project,” he said.
Bleacher replacements, a gym divider and acoustic improvements in the gym and reconstructed toilets in the fifth-grade wing, a repositioned playground with newly graded mulch, borders and rubber mattings, a reconfigured front campus parking lot and a new student drop-off and bus loop will complete the elementary school’s phase one scope of work.
How about some brand new, resurfaced and repainted tennis courts? They're outback, with a new basketball court. An atrium wall of windows with skylights and district branding will complement a safer entranceway for the middle-high school as well. In addition to the new welcome sign will be labeled for other community sites, such as the entrance to the aquatics area.
Much of the work wasn’t about want, but about need, Fisgus said.
“The big thing was to increase the security,” he said. “It's construction and there's a lot of vehicles here and a lot of supplies and materials, but, it's moving right along. And we're happy with the work being done. It's intrusive, but, you know, it'll be great once it's completed.”
Top photo: Art Teacher Kim Leupold puts the finishing touches on a mural created by students at Oakfield-Alabama Central School on Lewiston Road (Route 63). The mural is on a temporary wall in a hallway next to the new main office for the Middle-High school.
Photos by Howard Owens.
District Superintendent John Fisgus holds renderings of exterior building designs.
Construction in progress for the Middle-High school’s new main office.
Newly resurfaced and painted tennis courts are part of O-A's capital project.
The remodeled elementary school cafeteria is ready for hungry youngsters.
Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School Principal Lynn Gehlert shows the new -- and more secure -- entryway for the elementary school.
An expanded parking lot at the Middle-High School allows more room for visitors.
In addition to new stage lights in the auditorium, the rigging system has been upgraded. Work will begin to replace the stage after the annual musical.
The new Nurse's Office in the elementary school
Acoustic tiles in the ceiling of the remodeled cafeteria in the elementary school will help dampen sound.
The new bus lot for pick-up and drop-off is exclusively for buses during those designated periods, and it also serves as an overflow lot for special events at the school when buses are not transporting students.
Oakfield-Alabama's $15.3 million capital project is in full swing, with a completion date by this fall.
Pembroke Central School Board approved more than $2 million in bids for its 2021 capital improvement project during a special meeting conducted this past Thursday.
Superintendent Matthew Calderon said the meeting was called so that the bids and project could move forward “sooner than later.”
A total of $2,139,223.25 was approved for the following individual bids:
$496,775.79 to Edward Holme, Inc. for site work$756,000 to Willett Builders, Inc. for general trades work
$107,000 to Parise Mechanical, Inc. for mechanical work
$445,000 to DV Brown & Associates for plumbing
$293,913.73 to Astroturf Corp. for track resurfacing
$40,533.73 to Johnson Controls, Inc. for energy-efficient temperature controls
The project, approved by district voters in 2021, covers renovations and upgrades that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and per the district’s Building Conditions survey. Work includes:
Pembroke High School - Install auditorium ADA stage lift, ADA upgrades in restrooms throughout the building, install discus cage fencing (a safety issue), resurface the track, which has been deemed to be "at the end of its life."
Pembroke Intermediate School - Install auditorium ADA stage lift, ADA upgrades to the first and second floor main restrooms, retrofit the existing auditorium house lights, replacement of flooring in corridors, cafeteria, and select rooms.
Pembroke Primary School - Install auditorium ADA stage lift, asphalt reconstruction of parking lot and driveway around the building.
District officials have said the project will not affect taxpayers since a majority of the cost — 73 percent — is to be paid from state aid, and $1.1 million from the Capital Reserve Fund.
Below, a video of the project presentation via Pembroke Central School:
Residents of Byron-Bergen Central School will have an opportunity to cast a yay or nay vote tomorrow on the district’s proposed capital project for more than $17 million.
The vote is from 1 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Junior-Senior High School cafeteria, 6917 West Bergen Rd.
School officials have said that the majority of the project will use available state building aid to pay the cost of the $17,107,802 project. The District’s capital reserve fund, which is designated to be used exclusively for capital improvement projects, will pay for $2 million of the “local share.” The remainder of the project’s cost will be offset by retiring debt service payments, resulting in a “tax neutral” financing plan, officials say. All that is to say that it won’t directly impact school taxpayers.
This project is for improvements to the Elementary School, Junior-Senior High School, the natatorium (indoor swimming pool) and the bus garage. Priority has been given to “asset protection, healthy building initiatives, energy efficiency, and programmatic enhancement,” district officials say. These improvements will further district goals to provide quality, well-maintained buildings, infrastructure and facilities, district materials state.
A Question and Answer section on the district’s website covers:
Why the district has proposed this capital project (short answer: to ensure proper upkeep, make necessary repairs and spend the money now versus having more costly work and deterioration in the future);
How it was developed (through a long-range plan and required five-year state-mandated building surveys to assess and complete vital upgrades to preserve the current infrastructure);
Money that comes from state taxpayers (It is true that taxpayers have put money into the pot, and the district believes that doing this project would keep some of those dollars locally to benefit the Byron-Bergen school district);
When this project will begin (Once the State Education Department approves the project’s initial phase, expected by fall 2022, work would begin in early 2023 with anticipated completion by fall 2024);
What happens if the referendum is defeated (more critical safety requirements still need to be done and would be built into the annual budget, meaning that eventually, school taxpayers would bear the full cost. It’s a do-it-now or spends more later proposition).
A public information meeting was conducted on Sept. 30, but for those that missed it, project details can also be found at www.bbschools.org.
