Fredonia board hears BOCES $49.5 million capital plan; Fredonia’s share about $2.1 million

BOCES officials presented a $49.5 million capital proposal to the Fredonia Central School District Board on June 9, asking component districts to adopt an intermunicipal agreement (IMA) that would spread the cost across 27 districts and avoid a districtwide BOCES vote if every component board approves the IMA. The work is limited to repairs and replacement—HVAC systems, roofs, doors and secure entrances, parking and sidewalks, upgrades to fire alarm/PA/phone systems, and small program-specific renovations; presenters stressed there are no building expansions planned.

The BOCES presenter said the project evolved from an initial planning list of roughly $142 million and was pared to the top $49.5 million in priority needs. BOCES staff identified a financing approach that locks each district’s proportionate share in the IMA using resident-weighted average daily attendance (RWADA) percentages current at the time of agreement. For Fredonia, the illustration in the BOCES packet showed a share of about $2.1 million.

Jason Schwarz, the project financial adviser, described three common options for a component district’s local financing: pay cash (receiving state aid in the same year the district pays), use short-term notes to bridge cash-flow until the state aid is received, or issue bonds (a 15-year illustrative example was shown). Under the proposed IMA, payments would be scheduled in five annual installments starting July 2027, though districts can choose cash, notes, or bond financing to meet their local constraints. Schwarz emphasized that if the IMA is not adopted by all components, a BOCES-wide vote and a separate financing approach would be required.

Board members asked how RWADA is calculated and whether aid ratios could change. Presenters explained RWADA is a weighted attendance measure that adjusts for factors such as English-language learners and special education; the percentage used to allocate shares is locked into the IMA based on the data available when the IMA is executed, while the underlying state aid calculations will continue to be published annually. On cost escalation, BOCES said the construction manager and budget team apply conservative assumptions and contingency cushions, and that New York State’s aid rules treat BOCES projects so that districts receive aid once work has ‘‘started’’ rather than when projects are completed.

Dr. David (BOCES) summarized the project by saying it focuses on ‘‘safe, secure, and reliable facilities’’ and noted the program’s emphasis on maintaining campuses for students who attend regional BOCES programs. Jason Schwarz added that the IMA gives districts flexibility to coordinate the BOCES payments with their own local budgets in ways that issuing through a single statewide program would not.

The board received the presentation and asked staff to return with the IMA for board consideration; no final board vote on an IMA occurred at the June 9 meeting. The BOCES team provided a phased timeline for work and estimated that, if adopted by component boards by the end of June, BOCES would seek to submit plans for state review in 2026 with work and IT rollouts phased across 2028–2032 depending on campus scheduling and approvals.

What’s next: Fredonia board members will consider the IMA and possible bond resolution at a future meeting; if the IMA is approved by all 27 component boards, Fredonia would be responsible for its locked-in share and would choose a financing option consistent with its budget and tax-cap constraints.