On this year’s ballot is a proposition to help us both modernize and maintain our athletic and community spaces. So much of what brings us together at our school is our athletic program, as we celebrate and cheer on our community’s children. Our teams routinely perform well, and our student-athletes give us much to be proud of with their sportsmanship, work in our community, and athletic prowess. Many of our athletic spaces are now in excess of twenty years old. They are in use constantly, and are in need of a refresh to keep them viable for the students yet to come. Further, those spaces that are outside are subjected to weather patterns that cause expansion and contraction, water infiltration, and now have cracks and unevenness that, if left unaddressed, will only get worse with time, and limit the usage of the spaces.
This proposed project seeks to accomplish a great deal to improve the facilities that our students and community members use. The project proposes to:
· Resurface the track, outdoor basketball, and tennis courts at the MS/HS;
· Replace the main scoreboard, which often fails due to its age;
· Improve the field sound system and provide exterior field lighting to allow for track, soccer, and football events to expand into the evening hours and enable us to have competitions in the Fall beyond our once-a-year Nights Under the Lights;
· Increase our Internet capabilities in the field spaces to allow for better streaming options;
· Renovate our locker rooms to reflect contemporary student needs regarding storage for batting equipment, golf clubs, team collaboration, general maintenance of the spaces, and updates to the flooring, lighting, and masonry in the spaces.
· Provide a permanent and genuine concession space for our Sports Boosters to provide refreshments both indoors and outdoors;
· Build a true community-accessible bathroom space beyond the port-a-potty that currently exists, that families, spectators, and the community could use while attending our athletic functions;
· Air conditioning the gyms at both AJ Smith Elementary School and the Middle School/High School- these spaces are used year round by our school and community athletic programs and can get very hot between May and early October; and
· Air condition the cafeteria at AJ Smith Elementary, which, for security purposes, has no exterior windows, and with up to 200 young people eating lunch at a time and the heat coming from the kitchen would benefit from some cooler air being available.
This project’s proposition is in the amount of $4,747,367. By leveraging state aid, careful management of debt service, the appropriation of $500,000 from our capital reserve fund, and a very generous pledged six-figure donation from a community member, this project will result in no additional tax levy increase for our school community. If this proposition is approved by voters in May, we anticipate being able to submit to NYS for building approval in the Fall and hopefully be able to commence work in the Summer of 2026. We appreciate your consideration in helping us continue to improve our infrastructure and learning spaces.
