Poughkeepsie Future Capital Project Detailed

POUGHKEEPSIE – At last month’s Board of Education meeting, Kevin Sawyer of Triton Construction Company, Allison Sawyer and Arthur Smith of CPL Architects & Planners and Dr. Eric Jay Rosser, superintendent of schools, provided an update on the Poughkeepsie City School District’s Strong Schools Equal Strong Communities Capital Improvement Project.

This update focused on the work planned for the summer of 2023 and the future. The presentation also highlighted how the remaining $46,60,532 of the capital bond and how the Energy Performance Contract( $5.7 million), Smart Schools Bond ($3.1 million), American Rescue Plan Act ($3 million), and a $10 million capital reserve will be spent to transform district facilities to reflect 21st century learning environments.

Five priorities guided the strategic planning around the allocation of funding to advance the district’s goal.

* Security.

* Remaining restroom renovations.

* Select ADA components.

* Educational Programming.

* Building components/systems necessary for dependability.

Under the Strong Schools Equal Strong Communities funding commencing the summer of 2023:

* All occupied district buildings will receive new security vestibules.

* Interior door replacements will take place at all schools.

* Exterior door replacements will take place at all schools and the administrative building.

* ADA improvements will be made at Smith, Clinton, Krieger and Poughkeepsie Middle School.

* All remaining restrooms will be renovated in all occupied district buildings.

* Unit ventilators will be replaced at ELC, Warring, Poughkeepsie Middle School, Poughkeepsie High School, and Krieger.

* Building system upgrades will take place in all occupied district buildings.

* Site work improvements (parking lots, sidewalks, storm water control/remediation) will take place at Clinton, ELC, Warring, Krieger and Poughkeepsie High School.

* Auditorium upgrades (seating and flooring replacement and house lighting upgrades) will take place at Poughkeepsie High School.

* Auditorium upgrades (seating and flooring replacement and Audience Wall removal) will take place at Poughkeepsie Middle School.

* Innovation Labs will be installed at all schools.

Under the Energy Performance Contract commencing Winter of 2022/23.

* Lighting systems throughout the district will be replaced.

* Energy management systems throughout district schools will be updated.

* Unit ventilators in three elementary schools will be replaced at Krieger and Poughkeepsie Middle School.

* Heating system improvements will be made in schools throughout the district.

* Air handling units being replaced at Krieger, Poughkeepsie High School and the Columbus building.

Under the Smart School Bond funding commencing Spring of 2023:

* Weapons detection systems will be installed at Poughkeepsie Middle School.

* A second weapons detection system will be installed at Poughkeepsie High School.

* Camera installations will take place throughout all district schools. Upgrades will be made at Poughkeepsie Middle School and Poughkeepsie High School.

* State-of-the-art access control, public announcement and lockdown systems will be installed throughout all district schools.

Under the American Rescue Plan Act funding commencing spring of 2023:

* Unit ventilator replacements will take place at Morse, Clinton, and Warring.

During the presentation, Rosser shared that the team is working on a plan to access $10 million in capital reserves to update school building ceilings, flooring and exterior windows.

This plan would need to be authorized through a public vote in May 2023 with State Department of Education approval and procuring contractors to engage in the work in 2025. Rosser indicated that the plan would include the demolition of the former site of the district’s administrative offices, which has been classified as uninhabitable due to unrepairable damage to the site in 2018.