Eden Central School District advances two-part $30M capital package; Prop.1 structured to avoid local tax increase

Mike McCarthy, a project manager with Young and Wright, and Sarah Wilder of Campus Construction presented a two-part capital project the district will put to voters if the board adopts the resolution at the next meeting. McCarthy said the board would adopt a resolution in October and that the planned vote date is Dec. 17; if the project advances, design would take about a year, SED review was estimated at 8–9 months, and construction would occur in the summer of 2027 and 2028.

The package is split into two propositions. Superintendent (speaking in the presentation) said, “Proposition 1, $19,330,000 is 0% local taxpayer impact.” He described Prop. 1 as primarily infrastructure work — elementary and middle/high roof replacements, GLP parking-lot and door/ventilation work — and said the district expects to maximize a state-aid ratio of 78.2% and use roughly $3.5 million from capital reserves to keep Prop. 1 tax-neutral. He added Prop. 2, a $10.7 million proposal for classroom renovations, auditorium and office updates and select air-conditioning upgrades, is not standalone and would carry an estimated tax impact (about a 1.96% levy effect averaging $56 per $100,000 of assessed value) if approved without Prop.1.

Presenters emphasized the renderings shown were concepts; final design and scope will be refined with district staff after the vote. The board confirmed March–December 2028 as the planned construction window contingent on SED approvals and the public vote.