At the Board of Education Work Session held on March 8, 2017, Shawn Hamlin of Hamlin Design Group and Michael Fanning of Mosaic Architects, provided an update an overview of the program portion of Phase II of the district’s Long Range Plan.  The plan includes construction to Hamilton, Martin Luther King Pleasant Valley, Woodlawn, Yates and Van Corlaer elementary schools.  

Planning for Phase II began in November with a presentation to the board of education on November 16.  Since that time, the planning team has met with principals, the district facilities supervisor, and held a series of meetings with the building advisory committees in Hamilton, King, Pleasant Valley Woodlawn and Yates elementary schools.  Program planning and meetings for Van Corlaer were determined during Phase I.

Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Fanning presented drawings and program scope of work based on how the educators and leaders in each school want each of their schools designed in order to meet the programming needs of students.  The presentation and drawings are attached here (and are available online).

Mr. Hamlin pointed out that the drawings are concept designs that will evolve over time.

The planning team from Mosaic Associate, Hamlin Design Group and Turner, will present a schedule, phasing plan and budget at the March 22 board of education meeting.

Mr. Hamlin said that the program scope received a favorable reception from the New York State Education Department when they met and discussed plans for Phase II.

The work that can be done to a school in each phase is determined by the Maximum Cost Allowance (MCA) (how much the district can spend on each building at one time in order to receive building aid). Each of the school buildings in Phase II have an MCA of approximately $8-10 million.  This amount resets every five years.  Thus, the long range plan, outlines a planning cycle in which work is completed at each building, approximately every five years. 

Superintendent Larry Spring said that strategic planning allows the district to do the work to schools without having any impact on Schenectady taxpayers. 

According to the planning schedule, the budget will be presented at the March 22 board of education meeting.  The board is expected to adopt a Phase II plan on March 29.  The referendum will be advertised on March 30 and will be presented to voters for consideration on the ballot on May 16.

Between March 30 and May 16, the plan and details will be provided to the public. 

Long Range Planning documents on district buildings and the planning process are posted on the district website here.  You can also access Long Range Planning and the Capital Project work in phases by visiting the “About” link and “Strategic Initiatives.”

Looking ahead, planning for Phase III will take place in 2020 and include Van Corler, Schenectady High School, Keane and Zoller.  Phase IV planning in 2023 will bring additional work to Yates, Hamilton, King, Pleasant Valley, Woodlawn and the middle schools.