SCS Elementary to get Makeover

Cafeteria, Library to be Relocated, New Gym to be Built

By David Avitabile

SCHOHARIE - Now that the work on the Schoharie school athletic fields is complete, the focus will not be transforming the elementary school.

Superintendent David Blanchard told school board members before the Thanksgiving break that Phase 2 of the district's $25.9 million building project, the transformation of the elementary school, will begin soon. The project was approved by voters in May 2022.

The plans for the elementary school are now in the hands of the state education department and it is expected that it will take up to three months for approval, Mr. Blanchard said at the board's November 14 meeting. Once the approval is secured, probably in February, the district will go out to bid for the work. February should be a "prime time" to go out to bid for the construction, he added. Meetings will then be held between the district, architects, and engineers to iron out the details of the plans, The plans will be shown to the board and public.

The work in the elementary school is major, relocating the cafeteria and library and building a new gym.

Mr. Blanchard said he expects the elementary project to be done by the fall of 2026.

The work at the elementary school could start in the summer of 2023.

When completed, the construction would combine the current "1976" gym and elementary school cafeteria into a much larger gym with a stage at one end, move the cafeteria into the current elementary school library, and move the library to the current "1952" gym.

The project does not require any new local taxpayer funds as state aid and the current building reserve will cover the costs.