Falls School District designing final phase of repair project
NIAGARA FALLS — The Niagara Falls School District is designing a final phase of district-wide repairs costing $8.3 million, as officials also look ahead to plans that will introduce new teaching tools to classrooms.
The School Board on Thursday unveiled its third phase of capital projects for next year, which includes minor repairs for safety codes and small improvements. Among them are a new playground at the Community Education Center, eight digital camcorders for Maple Avenue, new flagpoles at several schools and hand dryers to replace towel dispensers for “sanitary reasons,” according to Superintendent Cynthia Bianco.
New roofs will be installed at Gaskill Preparatory School, 79th Street Elementary and G. J. Mann Elementary — at an estimated cost of $1.5 million.
The three roof repairs were initially planned to be part of Phase 2 work completed this summer, but the board opted to wait in favor of more urgent repairs. Thermal-imaging scans last year discovered damage on the roofs, requiring replacements within the next several years.
About a dozen security cameras will be added at several schools under the new project. The district upgraded its security system this summer to a digital system that can maintain three months’ worth of security footage from all the district’s schools. Fifty-six more cameras are being installed at Niagara Falls High School as part of the upgrade.
Costs for all the items on the list of next year’s work were not available Thursday night, but Bianco said the district expects to have $8.3 million available to spend.
Voters approved spending $50 million in capital projects in 2004. The second phase of work this summer, which included the installation of 410 interactive white boards and new parking lots at six buildings, was expected to cost more than $17 million, which would have depleted the $50 million. But low contractor bids pushed costs down, leaving $8.3 million for an unplanned third phase.
The leftover money will be spent on repairs, while the district looks ahead to a new, “very big” phase of work that will “change the instructional environment [of the district],” Bianco said.
“Phase 3 is remedial, but our next project is about restructuring,” she said. “An example is putting science labs in all the elementary schools so kids from 5 years old and up are having hands-on experience in science. We’re very excited about it.”
Bianco said officials will reach out to the district and community for ideas for “Phase 4,” with the board to begin planning in the spring. Funding for that project would need to be voted on and approved by the public.
In the meantime, Cannon Design is drafting plans for the third phase, which the board will review in December. After approval from the state, construction is expected to begin next June.
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