MEDIA ADVISORY News opportunity: For Immediate Release: January 29, 2008 Scotia-Glenville Board of Education to pursue building project vote as early as May The Board of Education on Monday, after months of studying various building options, has begun to lay the groundwork for a vote as early as May. After more than an hour of discussion on Monday, the board came to several conclusions: • Board members supported making maintenance repairs and upgrades to every building, replacing the elementary school roofs and making other improvements cited in a building survey submitted to the state Education Department last year. These items would be covered by a combination of special state EXCEL aid and building aid, leaving no local cost. Board members also supported replacing the athletic fields at the middle school and high school. This would likely affect taxes, unless it were coupled with some building construction. • In addition to those repairs mentioned above, the board supported making improvements to the family and careers classrooms at both the middle and high schools, technology shops at the high school, science labs at the middle school and enclosing the middle school library. These items would generate building aid to cover part of the cost of improving athletic fields. Some board members, feeling that the current middle school library space is inadequate, also supported construction of a new middle school library to replace the "open" library that has been in place for 34 years on the second floor. As well, other fields may also be replaced, depending on the cost and state aid reimbursement. • The board agreed to study whether to install a multi-purpose turf field that could be used by several sports at the current football field/track area. One area that has been slowing down the discussion, where and whether to move District Office, will be put on hold for now, board members agreed. As well, board members agreed to leave the four elementary school zones as they are now instead of considering combined zones. They also agreed that energy improvements should be considered in the future and a swimming pool would not be part of a main project, though the community could petition for a separate vote. Superintendent Susan Swartz said she will contact the district's architects, Dodge, Chamberlin, Luzine, Weber Associates in East Greenbush, to determine the costs associated with the options studied by the board. She hopes to present that information at the board's Feb. 11 meeting at Glen-Worden. For more information, contact Superintendent Susan Swartz at 382-1215 or Robert Hanlon, Communications, at 386-4343.