At the June 29 meeting of the Guilderland Central School District Facilities Committee, the committee agreed to revise the timeline for putting forth a proposal for a potential facilities upgrade plan to the Board of Education for adoption. This is now targeted for the July 27 Board of Education meeting. The Facilities Committee reached this decision to provide more time for clarification and assessment of the use of Federal COVID Relief Aid that GCSD will receive. While separate, the federal funds may impact the scope of the potential facilities upgrade plan.
The Facilities Committee has been working with representatives from the district’s engineering and architecture firms to refine the scope and costs of the plan, which will be based on the priorities of improving learning opportunities, enhancing safety and security for students and staff, and replacing or updating aging infrastructure. Preliminary discussions have focused on improving instructional learning technology as well as upgrades or replacement of heating and ventilation systems, bathrooms, classroom cabinetry and storage, roofs, lighting, windows, flooring, lockers, security systems, and playground equipment. Also under consideration are outdoor classroom pavilions at each building and the replacement of the high school track along with the addition of a turf field. Many of these needs have to come to light due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As we fine-tune our proposal, we are working hard to capture the priorities that our community shared in our recent ThoughtExchange: to improve our infrastructure, enhance our outdoor learning spaces and upgrade technology. These improvements will be good for kids,” said Director of Facilities, Clifford Nooney.
Comments and questions regarding the development of the proposal can be directed to: capitalproject@guilderlandschools.net.