The State Education Department (SED) allows school districts to undertake major improvements and take advantage of New York State’s Building Aid every five years. SED pays a percentage of capital project costs, typically a majority, with the districts paying the balance known as local share. 

This year, several area school districts held votes on their proposed capital improvement projects for the coming year.

Marion CSD

In Marion, the district’s capital improvement plan calls for reconstruction of existing school buildings and facilities, various site improvements and "the acquisition of certain original furnishings, equipment, and apparatus and other incidental improvements required," all at an estimated maximum aggregate cost of $24,125,000. The plan indicates 85% of project will be paid through NYS building aid with the remaining 15% of the project to be funded by utilizing $3.8 million from the school district’s capital reserve fund.

Marion voters approved the capital project on Tuesday, December 9th with 128 "Yes" votes and just 32 "No" votes.

The full plan is available at marioncs.org.

Williamson CSD

In Williamson, two capital project propositions were put to a vote.

The first proposition was focused on "District-Wide Asset Preservation" aimed at addressing aging infrastructure and maintaining the core integrity of all school buildings. This includes roof repairs and maintenance on mechanical systems within the buildings such as plumbing and heating.

Proposition two was focused on improvements to the district’s athletic fields and was contingent on proposition one passing. The improvements were focused on the high school baseball and softball fields.

The total cost for proposed improvements in proposition one was $19,290,000. The combined costs of both propositions together was $22,840,000. State building aid (84.3%) and capital reserves (15.7%) made the proposal tax neutral to local residents.

Williamson residents approved proposition one while voting down proposition two.

Proposition one passed with 162 "Yes" votes with 120 "No" votes.

Proposition two failed to pass with 118 "Yes" votes versus 161 "No" votes.

All presentations and information on the plan can be found at williamsoncentral.org.

Sodus CSD

Sodus Central held their vote on Thursday, December 11th on the district’s proposed $43 million capital project which the administration says will look to "addresses a variety of needs and enhancements to our facilities that will improve safety, environmental conditions, and educational experiences our students receive."

Proposed improvements include addressing various drainage issues on outdoor surfaces including parking lots and athletic fields. Interior work to update various classrooms and corridors in both the high school and elementary school is also addressed in the renovation plans.

With state building aid (89%) and reserve funds (11%), the project would again come with no additional tax increase for residents.

The district shared their full plan at soduscsd.org.

Voters in Sodus rejected the proposal with 103 "Yes" votes to 135 "No" votes.

North Rose-Wolcott CSD

In North Rose-Woloctt, the district has presented a $30 million capital improvement plan, again aiming to address aging facilities in addition to "enhancing learning and working environments for our students and staff." The district says this plan would have no additional impact on the tax rate thanks to existing capital reserves and New York State building aid of $23 million.

According to the district "The primary focus of this proposal is to relocate and build a new transportation facility to replace our current bus garage, which is no longer adequate. The current building is deteriorating and would require extensive repairs to bring up to code."

Additionally, North Rose-Wolcott is proposing work to the elementary and high school buildings with the intent to finish renovating first floor classrooms in the elementary school, while renovating the science wing and the kitchen at the high school."

Residents can read the full plan prior to next week’s vote at nrwcs.org.

Voting for North Rose-Wolcott will take place on Wednesday, December 17th from 12-8pm at the high school on 11631 Salter-Colvin Road in Wolcott.