NTCSD Capital Project Update

Capital project work plays a vital and complex role in state aid funding. While the immediate impact of capital project work results in improved learning environments, successfully completing capital projects on a regular basis ensures a stable stream of state aid known as building aid over the subsequent fifteen years.

Understandably, when districts face financial stress, it seems counterintuitive to upgrade facilities. The budget that is primarily associated with district-wide fiscal stress is known as the general fund budget, or the A fund which is annually voted on by community members each May. The current 39.9 million dollar capital project received community voter approval at the May 2024 annual budget vote. Capital projects are funded out of the H fund. This project is using six million dollars in capital reserves to offset the tax impact to the community and reduce interest expense. Capital reserves, in simplest terms, are dedicated savings accounts for facility improvement that cannot be used for other purposes. The remaining project expenses will be funded through a future debt issuance which will be offset by new state aid to be received. This will make this project tax neutral to our community.

Originally the 2024 Capital Improvement Project was designed to encompass two phases. The first phase would focus on exterior work throughout the district and primarily focus on interior renovations at the K-6 level. The second phase would focus on classroom redesign at the high school and energy-efficient window replacement at the middle school. In order to maximize work efficiency and to accelerate state aid payments as work is completed, the intentional decision was made to split the first phase in half, essentially creating three phases over the life of the project.

The goal of this Smore and subsequent newsletters is to keep the NTCSD community and staff aware of the exciting capital project work the district has going on as well as insights into future plans as they develop.

Next month starting in June of 2025, Phase 1A will begin! Competitive bids were received and approved by the Board of Education at the March meeting. Phase 1A work focuses on the exterior of the buildings throughout the district that is relatively simple to complete. Specifically, this part of the capital project will include:

- Roof repair at Drake, NTHS, and the transportation center.

- Brick repointing at NTI and Spruce.

- Gutter replacement at the transportation center.

With Phase 1A is firmly underway, the architects and construction managers are close to completing designs for the much more complicated Phase 1B of the project. This phase will focus on both interior and exterior work at the buildings throughout the district. Timing for this phase is critical to not only ensure competitive pricing from contractors, but also to ensure that work can be completed in a timely manner. It is anticipated that plans for this phase will be submitted to NYSED before the end of this current school year with bidding to take place in the late fall of 2025. This will allow for the district to begin construction in the spring of 2026. Specifically, this part of the capital project will include:

- Cafetorium renovations at the K-6 elementary schools.

- Sidewalk and exterior concrete stair repairs at the K-6 buildings.

- Energy-efficient window replacement at Spruce and Drake.

- Cabinet and sink replacements at the K-3 buildings.

- Interior space renovations at the transportation center.

- A secure front door vestibule at the high school.

- Energy-efficient electrical, HVAC, and mechanical upgrades throughout the K-6 buildings.

Phase 2 will undoubtedly be the most complex portion of the capital project as it primarily focuses on classroom redesign at the high school and energy-efficient window replacement at NTMS. The architects and construction managers will begin designing this work over the upcoming summer months with construction likely to begin sometime around the spring of 2027. Specifically, this part of the project will likely include:

- Pool updates at NTI.

- Window replacement and brick repointing repair at the middle school.

- Energy-efficient mechanical upgrades at the middle school and high school.

- Health office renovations at the high school.

- Technology, FACS, art, science, and music room renovations at the high school.

Each year, the district is permitted by the New York State Education Department pending a successful school budget vote to complete a $100,000 improvement project known as a Capital Outlay. This type of project is the equivalent of the express lane EZ pass version of capital projects compared to the multi-million dollar multi-year projects districts complete. The goal of capital outlays are for districts to continuously improve facilities as needed.

The most recent 2023-2024 capital outlay project focused on select door replacement at NTHS.

The current 2024-2025 capital outlay project is focusing on select door replacement at NTMS.

The anticipated 2025-2026 capital outlay project is focusing on K-3 playground fencing.