Johnson and Tioga Schools building projects
Board approves funding for Johnson addition/renovation
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Tioga addition design approved
The
Board of Education and District 2 administration have developed a
funding plan to renovate and expand Johnson School in tandem with the
construction of an addition at Tioga School without raising taxes.
Using a combination of low-interest Build America Bonds, a state grant
and cash reserves, the Board approved a funding plan Sept. 15, 2010 that will
result in operating two K-5 schools, one at Johnson School and one at
Tioga School. The Board also approved the basic design of the Tioga
School addition Sept. 15.
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This
plan was first proposed by a community-based Core Planning Committee
and adopted by the Board of Education in June, 2010. When this phase of
building is complete, students at Mohawk and Chippewa Schools will move
to the expanded schools at Tioga and Johnson. Chippewa School will be
demolished; the future of the Mohawk School site is undetermined. A
final project, adding more classrooms to Tioga will be needed to
replace the original Tioga building.
The board
action is a milestone in a five-year effort to devise a feasible plan
for improving the district’s aging elementary buildings. Chippewa
School is 83 years old and Tioga School is 80 years old. Mohawk school,
built in 1954, also faces significant issues. All three schools are
considered functionally obsolete by state educational standards.
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“My
heart swells that I will be able to vote to make this happen at the end
of my 20-year career on the Board,” said then Board Member Kathy Lane, who
led the 2005 Facilities Task Force. “I can’t express my joy. I love
this plan."
Board President Patty Reyes credited
the administration with being able to do this work without going to
taxpayers for referendum.
“I would also like to thank the teachers who participated in directed
discussions and the Core Planning Committee who participated in this
effort. This could not have gotten it done without them,” Reyes said.
Architects were hired Sept. 15 to begin work on the Johnson School
expansion and renovation. The timeline calls for breaking ground at
both sites in the spring of 2011.
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