education

People really should attend the City School District's annual art show in March at the Richmond Memorial Library, Superintendent Chris Dailey said after art teacher Amanda Antonucci provided a department review Tuesday night at the Board of Trustees meeting.

"It's amazing what our kids produce," Dailey said.

This year the art show will feature a districtwide project: art students are drawing portraits of just their eyes. The pair of eyes will be displayed side-by-side on one long wall.

The opening night reception will be held March 15.

Antonucci went through several projects students are working on at schools in the district, including the fourth-annual monster swap project, where elementary students draw a monster and high school students make a sculpture of those monsters.

"It's my favorite project," Antonucci said.

Teachers at Jackson, John Kennedy, and the Middle School are all integrating STEM into their art instruction.

This includes learning about nature through art, using perspective to learn math and geometry, and science with Lego-related projects.

Dom Grazioplene is the most recent student selected for a solo art show at GO ART!, with an opening reception Thursday night.

There are art appreciation nights planned in May for Jackson and the high school and in May the middle school will host its annual human rights activists project.

Press release:

The Adult Educational Opportunity Center (AEOC) is visiting every Genesee Community College campus center in January to help any current or potential student through College Entry Point and FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Workshops.

The remaining events are listed below; any current or potential student can attend these workshops:

Batavia Campus -- 1 College Road, Batavia

• Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 9 a.m. 'til 5 p.m.

Albion Campus Center -- 456 West Ave, Albion

• Tuesday, Jan. 15, from 9 a.m. 'til 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 22, from 9 a.m. 'til 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 9 a.m. 'til 12 p.m.

Arcade Campus Center -- 25 Edward St., Arcade

• Thursday, Jan. 17, from 9 a.m. 'til 3 p.m.
• Thursday, Jan. 31, from 11 a.m. 'til 7 p.m.

Dansville Campus Center - 31 Clara Barton St., Dansville

• Tuesday, Jan. 15, from 11 a.m. 'til 4 p.m.
• Thursday, Jan. 17, from 11 a.m. 'til 4 p.m.

Lima Campus Center -- 7285 Gale Road, Lima

• Tuesday, Jan. 22, from 9 a.m. 'til 2 p.m.

Medina Campus Center -- 11470 Maple Ridge Road, Medina

• Thursday, Jan. 17, from 9 a.m. 'til 12 p.m.
• Thursday, Jan. 24, from 9 a.m. 'til 12 p.m.

The complete calendar of AEOC support workshops, financial aid sessions, College Entry Point events and more is available at www.genesee.edu/aeoc/.

One of the most popular workshops the AEOC offers are the "FAFSA Fests" (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). During these sessions, anyone can receive help in completing the FAFSA and TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) forms. Interested individuals are encouraged to contact the AEOC office at 1-888-394-2362 or via email at AEOC@genesee.edu to reserve a seat in any session and to learn about what information and materials are required for participation. 

All of the AEOC services are free and available to anyone, not just students of Genesee Community College. With dozens of events taking place throughout the Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties, the AEOC is readily available. For a complete list of AEOC workshop and other events, visit the new calendar of events online here.

To learn more about any of these AEOC services, please visit here or contact the AEOC office at 1-888-394-2362 or via email at AEOC@genesee.edu.

Pembroke students Tuesday had a lot of questions for Astronaut David Saint-Jacques about being a space pioneer and life aboard the International Space Station.

Sixteen students were selected to ask questions and participating the planning of the event and today it all came together after months of preparation -- going back to April of last year -- during an assembly in the school's auditorium.

Saint-Jacques answered questions about what it was like to be in space, how his life inside the space station, what surprised him about going into space, and whether it was fun, along with addressing other topics.

Melissa Smith, a 7th and 8th-grade science teacher, took the lead on setting up the event and said it was a great opportunity to expose the students to things they may not otherwise get to do as part of their school experience. They learned about shortwave radio, the space station, about astronauts and they worked with members of the community to help bring it all together.

"We want to make a relatable experience for them so this was really cool because this isn't something we would necessarily teach in our curriculum, in our class, so it was a way we could go above and beyond what students normally learn," Smith said.

In all, 16 students were selected to ask questions during the eight or nine minutes the station was in position to connect via shortwave with a transmitter.

The ARISS event was managed by an international consortium of amateur radio organizations and space agencies including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at SUNY Buffalo State, and members of the Genesee County Radio Amateurs (GRAM) Club.  Pamela Ware, from Corfu, and member of GRAM, holds an FCC amateur extra license and was the liaison for the team of radio operators who provided hands-on training and experience for Pembroke students. 

A couple of months ago a friend contacted me and asked if I would like a book from the Union School. I immediately said, “yes.” When I taught at Robert Morris School there was a painting of a very impressive red brick school called Union School. I always thought there was another school on Union Street besides Robert Morris. When I began researching schools for my book, I learned the impressive school did exist in Batavia but on Ross Street.

Here is a brief timeline of the schools in Batavia. As Western New York was settled in the 1700s, the first thing on a settler’s mind was to build a home for the family and gardens or crops to feed them, but no community was complete until a church was built and soon followed by a schoolhouse.

By 1798, there were 1,352 schools in the Holland Land Purchase (the area sold and administrated from the Holland Land Office in Batavia). Within 40 years (by 1838) that number increased almost tenfold, to 10,583. 

The first brick school was constructed in Batavia in 1811. It had the public school downstairs and a meeting place for the Masonic Lodge upstairs. In 1829, the school district was divided between west of Dingle Alley and east of Dingle Alley. That would be the intersection of East Main and Center Street.

In 1839, the districts were consolidated and Batavia’s First Free Union School District 1 was built. In 1861, District 2 was combined with District 1. As a result, overcrowding occurred and the need for a new school was inevitable. The school district purchased land on Ross Street and in 1873 the red brick high school was built. It opened in 1874.

It was demolished in 1926 and was replaced with a new high school, currently the Batavia Middle School. The book I mentioned in this article was from the first high school that had the impressive red brick façade and towers. The book is stamped Union School 1905. The title of the book is, "The History of Little Goody Two Shoes," published in 1900. The book is dedicated "To All Young Gentlemen and Ladies who are good or intend to be good."

In 1911 the district was combined with one superintendent in charge of all schools. In the City School District, there was a high school, five elementary schools, the school for the blind and one Catholic school with students to 12th grade. By 1920, 400 students attended the high school; it was overflowing.

In 1921, 30 students had to go to vacant classrooms at East school. In 1920 the high school was built. There were five elementary schools and only one had been built in the 1900s. Washington was built in 1885 and had four rooms. In 1903 H. W. Homelius built a new school that had two floors and eight classrooms. It opened in 1904. Also built at the same time was Pringle School and William Street School. Washington School was built in 1885. East School and West School were built in 1892.

 In 1925 Jackson School would be built to replace William School and Pringle School. In 1929 Brooklyn School, Robert Morris, and Jackson school opened. In 1939 Jackson School was enlarged and opened as a junior high school. By 1948 all city schools were crowded. Students were bussed to less crowded schools. Parents protested, they wanted their kids in their neighborhood schools.

Temporary schools were created at East School and Washington School. In 1950, city council offered to the City School District a site on Vine Street for a new school. Pringle school closed and was razed in 1954. Lincoln School closed in 1960. Children living south of Ellicott Street went to Jackson School, which was no longer a junior high school. A new school was to be built on Vine Street, called John Kennedy School, named after the superintendent John Kennedy who served from 1890 to 1930.

As public schools were being built, so were parochial schools. St. Joseph School opened in 1882, Sacred Heart School in 1904, St. Anthony’s School in 1930, St. Mary’s School in 1951, and Notre Dame High School opened in 1952. St. Joseph School is currently the only Catholic Elementary School in Batavia along with Notre Dame High School.

In 1961 the current Batavia High School was built on State Street. The high school on Ross Street was changed to a middle school. A new school for B.O.C.E.S. was also built on State Street and opened in 1976. In 1972 the new Genesee Community College was built.

In 2014 Robert Morris School closed. Jackson School became the district primary school and John Kennedy School became the intermediate school.

Even though the earliest history of the various schoolhouses throughout the region had similar stories with varied locations and different building designs, they all were built for the same reason -- to educate the children in what is today our city schools.

I attended East School, John Kennedy School, St. Joseph and Notre Dame High and I taught at Jackson School, Robert Morris School and John Kennedy School. I am currently on the faculty at St. Joseph School.

Press release:

In a rare and unique opportunity, several Pembroke students will make contact with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) via amateur radio.

Pembroke was one of only seven schools worldwide selected for this round of contacts, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 10:28 a.m. in the auditorium of Pembroke Jr./Sr. High School in Corfu.

This activity is part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Program (ARISS), which promotes learning opportunities as part of the Science, Technology, Education, and Math (STEM) initiative. This unique experience will provide an educational opportunity for Pembroke students to learn about wireless technology and radio science through amateur radio.

The ARISS event will be managed by an international consortium of amateur radio organizations and space agencies including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at SUNY Buffalo State, and members of the Genesee County Radio Amateurs (GRAM) Club.

“This is a challenging and exciting opportunity for students to learn about space travel and exploration, how the astronauts live and work in space, and how students can – even at a young age – become radio amateurs for the emerging field of interplanetary communications,” said Melissa Payne Smith, a Science teacher at Pembroke’s Jr./Sr. High School.

Pamela Ware, Corfu resident and member of GRAM, holds an FCC amateur extra license and is the liaison for the team of radio operators who will provide hands-on training and experience for Pembroke students. She and Payne Smith – with the support of additional faculty, staff, and students at Pembroke – have spent several months coordinating their efforts in order to be chosen to speak with an astronaut at the International Space Station.

“From the minute Pam and I spoke, we believed that this would be an incredible opportunity for the students here at Pembroke," Smith said. "We spent hours planning, developing, and organizing our resources in the hopes of our school being selected. Multiple proposals were submitted, revised, and resubmitted during this process. It’s an honor for our school district to have been chosen for this."

Pembroke will continue to work with its partners to coordinate the exact date and time in January when students will be speaking with the International Space Station via amateur radio. In the weeks ahead, 20 Pembroke students will be chosen to participate in the transmission, and final technical preparations will take place.

This learning experience, multifaceted in academic and in real-world applications, has a much deeper meaning; students are learning that the sky, in fact, is not the limit.

Press release:

Providing students with authentic learning experiences is the goal of every career and technical education program. Students in the Conservation Program at the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center got just that opportunity when they constructed a kiosk for the Town of Bergen.

Despite the rainy, cold weather and muddy grounds, the Conservation students built a kiosk that has a roof, two benches and an information board. This project can be found in the Town of Bergen’s Drew’s Nature Center, located on West Sweden Road.

Ernest Haywood is the supervisor for the Town of Bergen. He contacted Jon Sanfratello, executive principal of the Batavia Campus, which includes the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center, to inquire about the possibility of constructing the kiosk.

“I thought the opportunity to build a kiosk for the nature center would foster the students understanding and appreciation of our natural resources as well as provide students a real-life experience to build something that would benefit the community for years to come,” Haywood said.

“It is my hope that the kiosk will provide information for community members to enhance their knowledge of what the Drew's Nature Center has to offer and directions and guidance to visitors on how to independently explore, at one’s own pace, the natural wonders of the center.”

Sanfratello echoed Haywood's thoughts.

“This project gave the students the opportunity to understand the importance of time management, and customer satisfaction all while using the skills learned in the classroom and shop," Sanfratello said. "They worked under some difficult weather conditions but they got the job done."

Jacob Vandenbosch is the Conservation Program instructor.

“The Conservation students were able to learn carpentry skills by creating a location for the community to enjoy the outdoors. As an added bonus, they learned the importance of giving back to the community,” Vandenbosch said. “We will also be exploring future class projects at the nature center and working alongside the town to improve the community’s experience."

Submitted photo: The Conservation a.m. session class with their completed project. Not in order of photo. Ali Mann, Peyton Armison, Andrew Clark, Chad Green, Evan Hands, Mitchell Humel, Dominic Ianni, Kristofer Kuszlyk, Breanna Mest, Adam Offen, Noah Pangrazio, Tristan Rasmussen, Kaitlyn Shultz, Alec Slepinski, Nathan Tabor, Hunter Wade, Tyler Will.

Terry Thompson and Becky Marsh, of Mercy Flight/Mercy EMS, talk about a career as a paramedic to a group of 10th-graders from throughout the region as part of the 10th Grade Career Day at Genesee Community College, sponsored by Batavia and Mount Morris CTE.

Throughout the morning, students rotated among a couple of dozen classrooms led by speakers from the local community representing various career fields including environmental science, cosmetology, educational administration, media and communications, the military, border protection, and nursing, among other fields.

More than 450 students from GLOW along with Steuben County participated.

Chris Suozzi, vice president of business development, Genesee County Economic Development Center, was the keynote speaker to kick things off in the morning.

Students in Ann Marie Starowitz's class at St. Joe's performed a Christmas story play today for the third week of Advent that included students narrating the story of the birth of Jesus and singing Christmas songs for their fellow students.

Photos by Howard Owens. Bottom photo by Ann Marie Starowitz.

Keep moving forward, that is what Adam Thorman said he has done since graduating from Byron-Bergen High School more than 10 years ago and joining the Navy.

He's moved forward in his Navy career, from E-2 out of basic training to E-6 after 10 years of service. He's been recognized by his superiors for his hard work and dedication as a military security specialist. He's gotten married and become a father to a 17-month old daughter. And he has overcome tragedy in his family, the deaths in separate accidents of his twin sister and his younger sister.

He said he's moved forward with the help of friends and family but meeting his wife a couple of years after the deaths of his sisters in 2011 "kind of opened up my eyes that I could still move on while unfortunately still missing two of my family members," he said during a presentation Monday at the Western New York Tech Acadamy.

Thorman was one of four speakers for "Motivational Monday" at the academy. The other speakers were Gina Lathan from Lathan Construction, Jakob Terranova from Six Flags Darien Lake, and Kelley Yates from Sedgwick Business Interiors.

Thorman fielded a variety of questions from the three dozen students who attended the talks, including questions about his deployments overseas, his career plans, life in the military, and how he overcame obstacles (such as bringing his reading skills up to the necessary level to complete college) to advance his career.

"I really enjoy reading books now," he said.

The Buffalo Bills' Lorenzo Alexander sponsored a reading contest at Pembroke Intermediate School for the month of October. Any student who completed a book during October would be entered to win one of 15 tickets to a Buffalo Bills football game.

Yesterday, 15 students attended the game, all-expenses paid by Alexander.

"It was a cold day, and despite the upset against the Jets these 15 students and teacher chaperones had the time of their life," said Melessa Cleveland, whose daughter, sixth-grader Angelina, was among the 15 winners. "A very special thanks to Lorenzo Alexander for donating food and tickets for yesterday's game."

Photos by Mr. Brown. Info and photos submitted by Melessa Cleveland. 

The Bionic Bees -- a team of third- through sixth-graders from the Gillam Grant Community Center -- won the Project Award at the Finger Lakes FIRST Lego League regional qualifier robotics competition.

On Saturday, Nov. 17 the Bionic Bees competed at The Integrated arts and Technology high school in Rochester against other area teams. This year’s theme for the competition was "Into Orbit." Teams had to think of a solution to a physical or emotional problem that astronauts face when in space for long periods of time.

The team’s solution was to use virtual reality to give astronauts pieces of home through sights, sounds and smells.

They designed Bionic Binoculars, which can give you the pleasant smells of their home. The motion-detecting gloves or controllers would set off a smell when placed near the accompanying visual. Astronauts could wear a vest with the binoculars that could adjust temperature depending on the setting like a fireplace for example. Through the viewer they could see and hear the familiar sights and sounds of home.

The team modeled their idea from the Oculus brand of virtual reality products.

FIRST LEGO League gives students the chance to develop, design, build and code LEGO MINDSTORMS robots to perform autonomous “missions” on a themed playing field and design innovative solutions to a real world problem inspired by the theme.

Along their journey, students develop critical thinking and team-building skills, basic STEM applications, and even presentation skills, as they must present their solutions with a dash of creativity to judges.

They also practice the Program’s Core Values, which emphasize discovery, teamwork and good sportsmanship. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.

Based in Manchester, NH, the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills.

The Learning Center at Gillam Grant, a not-for-profit center located in Bergen. We provide tutoring, homework help and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) enrichment classes and clubs for K-12^thgrade students.

Voters in Alexander yesterday rejected a $12.6 million capital improvement project that would have allowed the school district to build a new bus garage, upgrade some elementary school classrooms and install lights on the football field.

The ballot proposition failed by a 61 to 39 percent margin, or 183 no to 117 yes.

School officials said the current bus garage is beyond repair and its location and configuration is a traffic safety hazard. 

Critics accused the Alexander CSD of using the community's long-standing request for lights on the football field as a way to bribe voters into approving the expenditure.

The projects were going to be funded by $1.9 million from capital reserves (money designated for such projects), $705,000 from other reserves, and more than $10 million in state aid.

Passage of the measure would have required the district to take out $10 million in bonds, with state aid making the bond payments, over the 15- and 30-year life of the bonds.

Officials said the bus garage is in such bad condition that state officials will soon force its replacement.

Previously: Alexander needs new bus garage, classroom upgrades, football lights go along with it, residents told at forum

The Oakfield-Alabama Central School District’s Board of Education (BOE), has selected John Fisgus as the district’s next superintendent.

 "I am deeply honored and extremely excited to join the Oakfield-Alabama school community and family," Fisgus said. "I am eager to begin my work as your next superintendent and I am excited to work for such a great board and staff at Oakfield-Alabama. It is my mission to make O-A a 'District of Distinction' and through collaboration and teamwork, the place to be!"

Matt Lamb, president of the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District’s Board of Education, said: "The Board of Education truly values the input we received from the various stakeholder groups who met with the candidates to help us make a final decision.

"We are confident that John Fisgus will lead our district through the issues we face in our region. With his leadership, we will work together to deliver the best education possible for our students.”

Fisgus is currently the principal of Royalton-Hartland Middle School, in the Royalton-Hartland Central School District (RHCSD), where he has served since 2008. His responsibilities as principal include supervising and hiring all instructional and support staff, developing and managing a building budget as well as assisting with the district budget development process.

Fisgus created honor courses in all four academic core subjects within the middle school and is the facilitator of the district’s Professional Learning Community Team. Prior to that, he served as the assistant principal at Lake Shore Middle School.

Fisgus began his career in education in 1998 as an eighth-grade math teacher at Depew Middle School in the Depew Union Free School District.

He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Secondary Mathematics Education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Fisgus earned a Master of Science in School Administration from Canisius College and holds a New York State School Administrator/Supervisor and School Administrator Certificate.

The anticipated start date for the new superintendent is January.

Kevin MacDonald, district superintendent of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, acted as the search consultant and noted that the search process was a true collaboration between the Board of Education, district staff and community.

Submitted photo and press release:

Starting with the Class of 2024, Le Roy Jr.-Sr. High School will recognize graduating seniors through a Laude System.

Our current seventh-grade students will be the first to move through the Sr. High School without using our current graduation class ranking system, including Top Ten and Valedictorian/Salutatorian designations.

Last year our School Improvement Team, comprised of teachers, counselors and administrators, evaluated the execution of our graduation class ranking system and how it impacts our students and school culture.

In our findings and evaluation, it became clear that our current graduation system was not maximizing our student potential.

We then searched for successful ways schools are motivating and celebrating student success at graduation. We analyzed schools in Rochester, Buffalo, and the Midwest, and talked with colleges and universities about the impact of moving from a numerical ranking to a Laude System.

One of the local schools we talked to, Webster Thomas, implemented a similar process 10 years ago.

The new Laude System is a point-based system that combines honor points and cumulative grade-point average. At Graduation in 2024 we will begin celebrating student success with the following levels: Summa Cum Laude ("with highest honor") for 95 GPA +20 points, Magna Cum Laude ("with great honor") for 90 GPA + 15 points, and Cum Laude ("with honor") for 85 GPA + 10 points.

Finally, our student graduation speakers will be voted on by the senior class and all students in a Laude level will be eligible for this honor.

Again, the Laude System is in place for our current seventh-graders, the Class of 2024. It does not affect our students in grades 8-12. We will be meeting with the Class of 2024 to go over these changes prior to the 2019-2020 scheduling process.

Comments from Tim McArdle - Le Roy Jr.-Sr. High School Principal

"After extensive research, our team sought to create a system that did two things. One, create a me vs. me system instead of student vs. peer, encouraging rigor in student course selection, decreasing unnecessary competition between classmates, and increasing students' academic and intellectual risks. Two, to honor all the many pathways our students travel to Graduation and reward them for taking a rigorous road that will not only maximize their potential but prepare them for the competitive world."

"We would like to thank our entire staff for their vital part in giving feedback and developing this exciting new change. Also, a big thank you to our School Board who carefully reviewed this process and unanimously approved it."

A $12.6 million capital improvement proposal for the Alexander Central School District truly is a collaborative effort by members of the local community, Superintendent Catherine Huber, Ed.D., told residents at a community forum Wednesday night.

"The committee worked tirelessly for several months and really came up with a plan that represents the voices of the community," Huber said. "The work was nothing but true collaboration and this plan really does represent the voices of our community."

The plan calls for a new bus garage, four upgraded classrooms in the elementary school building, and lights for the football field.

There are some in the community, including Toby Wade, who had a lot to say at the forum, who suspect the lights for football is a sort of bribe of the community to get approval for the bus garage.

"There is a perception out there by some people, and I admit, I'm one of them, who think you are just throwing them a bone so you can get the rest of the stuff you want," Wade said. 

Huber said the football lights were included because lights on the football field are a long-standing request of the community. She said it was one of the first things brought up to her by community members when she joined the district two years ago. The need for a new bus garage and dealing with the classroom situation is driving the need for a capital project, and that creates an opportunity to wrap in lights for the football field.

"We feel like this plan is not a matter of throwing a bone to anybody," Huber said. 

The state requires school districts to do a facilities review every five years and identify potential issues that need to be addressed. To comply with that requirement, Huber said, the district formed a committee -- any member of the community was able to participate -- and committee members toured the entire district property.

"When we came back from our site tour, almost everybody in that room knew what our priorities should be," Huber said. "When we toured the transportation facility, we realized what dire straits that transportation facility is in. We had no idea what condition the classrooms were in on the garden level but flooding was happening there regularly. The transportation facility and the elementary school building, we knew we had to do something about that. That was our jumping off point."

The current bus garage is beyond repair, Huber said. Bricks are deteriorating, there are other structural problems, and modern buses don't fit in it well.

There is also a persistent complaint about the safety of the current location. The current configuration means buses must back up into both car and pedestrian traffic areas.

Another long-standing request from the community, Huber said, is for a sidewalk connecting the high school with the elementary school in order to improve safety.

The proposed new transportation facility would eliminate indoor parking for buses (a configuration the state would not fund), create bays for bus maintenance, and a second floor for offices for transportation staff.

The transportation facility would be on a raised elevation, creating separation from pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk next to the football field.

Huber said the district decided to build a new transportation hub at the present location of the bus garage because there was no other available space on school district property and with declining enrollment, it made no sense for the district to acquire off-campus property for buses.

"We looked at several locations on campus and everywhere we ran into issues -- slops, water flows, traffic," Huber said. "It's a very complicated space."

Becky Cokelet, project consultant, from SEI Design Group, explained the situation with the elementary school classrooms.

There is a problem with flooding in the lower southwest area of the building because of soil conditions and that has caused damage to the building. 

The plan also calls for eliminating the bathrooms in each classroom and converting those to storage closets. Two new multi-stall bathrooms will be added where there is currently a classroom. 

The classrooms will be updated with modern fixtures and features and module desk units purchased. There will also be new lockers installed in the hallway.

Funding for the $12.6 million projects will come from a variety of sources:

• $1.9 million from capital reserves;
• $750,000 from other reserves;
• and, 79 percent funded by state aid.

There will be no tax increase in either the near-term nor the long-term related to the project, Financial Director Tim Batzel said.

The district will be required to take out a 15-year bond on the classroom renovations and a 30-year bond for the new building but there will be no increase in the tax levy as a result.

The bonds will be repaid over the years by reimbursements from the state, not out of district funds (after the allocated reserves are spent).

While the statutory language of the ballot measure voters are being asked to approve Monday discusses using tax levy funds to pay for the project, that is language required by state law. In reality, Batzel, future tax levy money will not be used for the project. The expense of the project is completely covered by existing reserves and state aid.

If voters approve the project, Cokelet and her SEI colleagues will need until June 2019 to draw up architectural plans, then state officials will need to approve those plans -- a process that takes several months -- so construction won't begin before 2020 and then will take 10 to 12 months to complete.

Toby Wade said it seemed like there were a lot of unanswered questions about project details, particularly around the design of a retaining wall that he and others thought could present a safety issue.

Huber assured the audience that there is no way the district would approve plans that didn't adequately address safety issues.

As for the lack of detailed design plans, Cokelet said the stages of development are driven by state regulation. First comes the assessment, then a preliminary plan, which requires state approval, and then that plan is presented to the school board for approval. After the board approves it, it is brought to district voters for consideration.

It's only after voters approve it that architects can begin to actually design the buildings and infrastructure of the project.

Wade said that process is a problem because the district voters have been burned before.

"The year 2000 building project was a complete failure," Wade said. "We had to go through lawsuits and it was a huge disservice to people. I can respect that you're trying to do what is needed, but a lot of people in the community aren't going to trust that you're doing your due diligence and trust that it's all going to turn out right."

Cokelet didn't deny the previous project had numerous problems but she said she wasn't involved in the 2000 project, nor was her company.

"I'm ashamed on a professional level, on behalf of my profession, how that firm represented (and) handled that project, but thankfully that firm is out of business," Cokelet said.

However, the district won't be able to maintain the garage much longer. Soon the state will require it be replaced.

"I understand this requires faith and trust but I hope you will look at our most recent projects and I hope you see the great work that was done on limited budgets," Cokelet said.

Voters in the Alexander Central School District can vote on the capital improvement project at the school on Monday (Dec. 3) from noon to 8 p.m.

Press release:

When Jeff Fronk was approached by a member of the Conesus Fire Department regarding a project, he never thought that the venture would take on a life of its own. Fronk is the Collision, Custom, and Restoration (CCR) instructor at the Batavia Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center. 

Dale Eddy is the assistant fire chief and vice president for the Conesus Fire Department. He contacted Fronk last spring with the hopes of having the CCR students work on a 1934 Dodge firetruck that was in dire need of repair.

“The truck had been stored since the '70s when it was put out of commission. It was in very bad shape, even trees were growing out of it,” Eddy said. “We contacted Jeff and hoped he would be willing to take on this project. He showed great interest because he saw the potential for the truck. We were hopeful that he could complete the extensive overhaul that the truck needed.”

“I knew this would be a big undertaking because the truck was in such disrepair,” Fronk said. “It had sat idle for many years; there were parts and pieces missing.”

Fronk inspected the truck and decided to tackle the project. Fronk and the CCR students delved into restoration and uncovered how much work that the truck required. Learning the scope of the work needed, Fronk called upon some of the other Batavia CTE instructors for their assistance, as well.

“The Conservation students milled the wood for the truck bed flooring, and then pre-drilled these oak planks for installation, the Welding students fabricated the side panels and fenders,” Fronk explained. “My CCR students repaired the body pieces that were salvageable, sandblasted the exterior, then primed and painted the exterior. The students even polished the brass bell that’s on the front of the truck.”

Due to a Conesus Fire Department event, the project was under a tight deadline. The entire restoration took place within a four-month period so the firetruck could be used during the summer months. When school ended in June, the truck was not fully completed, so Fronk, along with the help of some fellow CTE teachers, completed the project.

Eddy and the other fire department members were in total awe of the project when the truck was delivered to the fire department in July.

“I knew this was a project that the students could take on," Eddy said. "I completed the Auto Technology Program at the Mount Morris Center, so I’m a BOCES graduate.

"But when all of us saw the finished truck, we were amazed at the quality of the work that the students and instructors completed. That truck was, and still is, smiling from fender to fender.”

The finished truck was recently displayed at the Batavia CTE Center so the students could view their work. Fronk noted how students reacted to seeing the restored truck.

“When the students saw the truck, their jaws dropped and eyes were so big; they were in disbelief! They are so proud of their work,” Fronk said. “This was an incredible project for the students to complete. I’m sure that they will never see a project like this again; I know that I never will!”

The truck is now showcased at the Conesus Fire Department and is used for special community events.