VOORHEESVILLE – History is an important aspect of education, and, for students at Voorheesville Elementary School, it is all around them.

The school was built in 1930, with additions in 1949 and 1963, and is eligible for the National Historic Register, according to Superintendent Linda Langevin, but is thus far not part of it.
"We want this building to last a long time," said Assistant Superintendent for Business Sarita Winchell.

The building is in need of repairs, and, beginning this summer, renovations will begin in a $5.8 million bond project endorsed by voters last fall.

The State Historical Preservation Office reviewed the proposed design and construction plans for the elementary school, and the district could not get a building permit without SHPO’s approval, said project architect Michael Fanning.
SHPO wanted to be sure the historical aspect of the building would be maintained. "It’s a very handsome building," Fanning said.
The school has not been renovated since 1989, Winchell said. "Airflow and ventilation really needed to be addressed."

The project received State Education Department approval on Monday. The next step is going out to bid, Fanning explained. The project has five different contracts – general construction, plumbing, heating and ventilation, electrical, and asbestos abatement.
"We might easily get 30 bids on the five contracts," he said. The district will receive bids on March 29. "The lowest qualified bidder is accepted," Fanning said.

On Sept. 19, district residents voted in favor of the $5.8 million bond project. Renovations at the elementary school, worth $2.28 million, will make up 89 percent of the project. Renovations at the high school will make up 9.4 percent, and 1.6 percent will be used for improvements to the bus garage.

The elementary school portion will involve the installation of updated, more efficient unit ventilators, replacing valves, and putting in place an energy-management system and exhaust systems to help manage airflow in the building.

The project will also increase the access for people with disabilities through the secondary entrance in the school’s courtyard, and also in the upper-floor bathrooms, Fanning said.

Construction plans

The project will start this summer in the top two floors in the oldest section of the elementary school building. It will continue into the 2007-08 school year, with work happening on the second shift, starting at 4 p.m. after the school day ends, Fanning said.

The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of the summer of 2008.
Classrooms renovated during the school year will be done two at a time, Fanning explained. While the work is being done, the classes that use the rooms will be relocated to "swing classrooms," he said. Sixteen classrooms in total will be renovated at the elementary school.

The high school portion of the project, costing $558,000, includes rebuilding the tennis courts, renovating restrooms that were not renovated in the 2001 project, installing a new ceiling in the old gymnasium, adding a water-softening system, and replacing removable wall partitions.

The $91,000 bus garage improvements include installing brighter, more efficient lights, relocating the vehicle-exhaust system farther from the building, replacing the non-functioning parts of the heating system, and filling in and sealing a flooded underground holding tank.
The project is a "preservation of a community asset," said school board vice-president C. James Coffin at a school-board meeting preceding the September vote.

The newest wing of the elementary school is 44 years old, Winchell told The Enterprise. The age of the building and its interior heating and ventilation systems was one of the major factors driving the project, she said.
"The real need is there, and the timing is good," Winchell said. The $7.9 million bond issue from 1989 will be retiring at the same time that taxpayers will begin paying on the new bond issue.
Winchell said the district saw "the window of opportunity, to phase in work without impacting the taxpayer."

The project will be funded through several means – $500,000 from the existing capital reserve fund; $31,000 from interest on the capital reserve; $409,000 from the state’s Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning (EXCEL) aid; and $4.88 million from the bond issue.

The repayment schedule will be over a 15-year period.

The initial planning for the project began before the EXCEL aid was available, Winchell told The Enterprise. The availability of the aid, she said, "made the project more attractive."
The project, Langevin said, "is an investment in the future."