Niskayuna Central School District voters have approved a $5.6 million capital improvement project by a vote of 605 in favor (78%) and 172 opposed (22%). Results were announced at Niskayuna High School shortly after the polls closed on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
The project will result in health, safety and infrastructure work throughout the district. All of the proposed work was identified in last year’s Building Conditions Survey as items needing to be either repaired or replaced in the near future. The capital project carries no projected tax increase, as it is timed with the retirement of existing debt
“We are grateful for the community’s support in today’s vote,” Superintendent Cosimo Tangorra, Jr. said. “This is an important step in our plan to protect the investment taxpayers have made in school facilities. It will allow us to address some priority health and safety work in the near-term as we enter a period of long-term planning.”
The capital project includes roof replacements at Birchwood and Craig elementary schools and Van Antwerp Middle School; replacing electrical panels at seven schools and heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls in three; and installing new fire suppression systems in the Rosendale and Iroquois kitchens.
Following the vote, the district will seek approval from the State Education Department to complete some of the work in the summer of 2017, including the Van Antwerp roof replacement. Most of the work approved on Tuesday is expected to be done in the summer of 2018.