Valley Central board majority backs planning for new Walden Elementary on alternate site

The Valley Central School District Board of Education signaled it will pursue planning for a new Walden Elementary School on an alternate site, after several board members said renovation options and a district-wide reorganization either would leave the district with continued facility deficiencies or cause excessive disruption and long-term costs.

Board members spent the March 25 meeting reviewing cost estimates, state-aid implications and program impacts for options the district and the Walden Building Committee had studied. The board’s majority preference — described during deliberations as a plan to draft and vote on a resolution to move forward with a new school on an off-site parcel — was announced near the end of the roundtable discussion; board leaders said they expect a formal vote at the next meeting once legal documents are prepared.

Why it matters: Walden Elementary has been identified in district materials and the…