In proposition two of the 2024 budget vote, voters are asked to consider approving Phase Two of our plumbing project in the amount of $1,450,000.  Through careful stewardship of our capital reserve, the Board of Education is proposing this project which appropriates $394,000 from our capital reserve and, when combined with state aid, will result in no additional tax levy increase for our school community.   If voters approve the project in May, drawings will be submitted to the State Education Department Office of Facilities Planning by late fall, where there is presently a six-month backlog in issuing approvals and guidance to school districts for capital work.  We anticipate the earliest we would be able to commence work on this project is late 2025.    

This project will help support some of our interior plumbing needs such as: updating and replacing a first floor bathroom at the MS/HS which has seen better days; flushing, cleaning, and replacing water fountains and their associated piping; removing aged acid tanks and replacing them with smaller dilution tanks and extending vents on roof to reduce odors that often infiltrate the school building; adding additional water softener/filtration capabilities in our school kitchen to extend equipment life, and replacing aging pipes for domestic water, sanitary, and storm water from inside the building from 1936, 1952, and 1964 construction projects.  

Additionally, this project will also help us to replace our MS/HS auditorium theatrical sound and lighting systems which have reached the end of their useful life and are now closing in on more than two decades of consistent use.  Our auditorium is used for concerts, school musicals, award ceremonies, class meetings, assemblies, community meetings, and as a classroom space for students in our theater class.  The sound system is currently run on a computer that utilizes a floppy disk, and is in need of constant repairs, and the light system uses lights for which replacement parts are no longer made and are hard to come by.  Thus, we often find ourselves having to rent lights and audio enhancements at significant expense to make our shows and productions the caliber we want for students and the school community.  We appreciate your consideration in helping us to continue to improve our infrastructure and learning spaces.