Valley Central asks voters to approve $11.1 million in school repairs; annual budget also on May 20 ballot

Valley Central School District officials asked residents to vote May 20 on two propositions: the annual school budget and an $11.1 million capital project to repair aging school buildings, the district announced.

The vote matters because district leaders say facility problems identified in a March 2022 building condition survey — and the advanced age of many buildings — require immediate work to keep schools safe and functional. “New York State mandates a building condition survey for each school every 5 years,” said Brad Conklin, assistant superintendent for business at Valley Central. He said the last survey identified “over a hundred and $50,000,000 in necessary improvements.”

District officials outlined the scope of Proposition 2 and how it would be funded. The capital project would address failing windows at ALC and Montgomery Elementary School, repair a gymnasium floor at Montgomery Elementary that district staff described as lifting and bubbling, replace original classroom flooring at East Coldenham, replace an original underground water-storage holding tank at the middle school, and install air conditioning in the middle school cafeteria. “The gaskets in the windows have have failed creating moisture, in between the windows. You can't even see through them. The windows are a safety hazard,” said Ryan Schmidt, director of facilities.

Proposition 2 carries a maximum cost of $11,100,000. To lower the tax impact, the district plans to use $4,960,000 of its fund balance and expects to receive 72.7% state building aid on eligible project expenses, Conklin said. He added that the district’s fiscal advisers estimate that applying the fund balance and state aid would result in no additional tax impact on local taxpayers.

Officials emphasized building age and student comfort when describing the need. Conklin noted that the Valley Central School District was formed in 1958 and that the “average age of our buildings [is] almost 80 years old.” Schmidt described the middle school cafeteria as “very well used” and said it “gets sweltering” in warmer months, calling air conditioning there “extremely important for the student and the faculty.” He also detailed specific problems with floors and windows that the proposed work would address.

The district did not adopt a formal action at the informational presentation; the vote is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Valley Central High School. Conklin encouraged residents to vote.

Less critical details: Proposition 1 is the district’s annual school budget; officials did not provide line-item budget numbers at the presentation. The district did not specify an estimated number of households affected or a precise tax-rate change, beyond the fiscal advisers’ estimate that there would be no additional tax impact if the funding plan and state aid are realized.