District staff outline $46 million capital program progress, plan fall bidding for phase three

District staff presented a comprehensive update to the Board of Education on July 28 about the district—s multi‑year capital program, saying major renovations and mechanical upgrades are underway and that staff plan to seek bids on a third phase this fall.

Bill, a district staff member who led the presentation, told the board that the district is carrying out about $46,000,000 in capital work overall and that “out of the $46,000,000, we—re doing about $35,000,000 this summer,” adding the program is roughly halfway complete. He described completed items that include tennis courts, track asphalt replacement and a new administration vestibule, and said contractors are installing heating, ventilation and air‑conditioning (HVAC) equipment and completing boiler replacements.

The update listed recently finished work funded from prior transfers and ARPA/CRRSAA projects, including ventilation improvements at Walden Elementary School and scoreboard and vestibule work at the high school. Staff said New York State Education Department approvals were obtained for phases of the 2023 bond package (phase 1 and phase 2), and that phase 3 has received approvals and is being planned for fall bidding to improve contractor interest and allow lead time for procurement.

Why it matters: the work affects every school building in the district, touches long‑lead procurement items (doors, skylights, major HVAC units) and includes asbestos abatement and major mechanical replacements that will influence operating costs and school openings.

The presentation included specific project updates: boiler room overhauls that replaced oversized, inefficient units with compact, more efficient boilers; ventilation and ceiling installations across multiple elementary schools to create plenums for improved exhaust ventilation; planned replacement of cafeteria and classroom RTUs; and a Montgomery Elementary School roof replacement following abatement. Staff said track resurfacing will begin after an off‑gassing period of asphalt, and skylights and district‑wide exterior doors are on long lead times and are being procured.

Staff described sequencing decisions made to limit overlapping work (for example, separating abatement and unit‑ventilator replacement by year) and said part of the fall strategy is to bundle bid packages so specialty contractors will respond. They said a portion of the phase 3 strategy is to avoid bidding during the late‑summer contractor backlog: "strategically, we want to go out in the fall...we feel like people are going to be bidding," staff said.

Board members and staff also discussed preparatory work done this summer to enable future air‑conditioning and electrification projects (for example, running piping and wiring while ceilings were open). Staff noted that some buildings will need multi‑year sequencing because of the volume of abatement work and the limits of accomplishing large projects within a single summer.

No formal vote on project scope or funding was taken at the meeting; the presentation was informational and staff said they will return with bidding documents and contract recommendations when ready.

The district posted a short video and time‑lapse photos to illustrate the work; staff said the video received nearly 1,000 views in 24 hours. The board asked for future tours of completed and in‑progress work.

A closing note listed anticipated items in the 2025 submission to the State Education Department: lintel and window work at Maybrook and Montgomery, a Montgomery gym floor replacement, air conditioning for the middle school cafeteria, a middle‑school water holding tank and classroom floor replacement and abatement at East Coldenhamm.