Gilboa-Conesville Voters Approve $7.9M Improvement Project

By Chris English

GILBOA-CONESVILLE — Students, parents, and staff in the Gilboa-Conesville School District are gearing up for an estimated $7.9 million improvement project after district voters approved the work, 62-21, at a Dec. 17 referendum.

“Thanks to the community,” said District Superintendent Bonnie Johnson at the Dec. 18 school board meeting. “We look forward to the kickoff meeting with Hunt Architects.”

According to presentations made by Hunt during the last few weeks, the project will not necessitate a property tax increase. The funding proposal for the work is to use $3.7 million from a capital reserve fund and $4.2 million in serial bonds. No tax increase can be accomplished by “leveraging New York State building aid and managing debt service payments,” according to the Hunt presentation.

“The presentation was totally transparent, which always helps,” School Board President Michael Fleischman said at the Dec 18 meeting “I want to thank our community, which always supports the school.”

Proposed improvements include painting and acoustic upgrades to the gymatorium, locker replacement, an Americans with Disabilities Act connection between the two main buildings, septic system and retaining wall replacements, renovation of the parking lot and office and conference room ventilation work at the bus garage and other upgrades.

Included in the estimated $7.9 million pricetag are gymatorium cooling, roof overlays for all buildings, and replacement/relocation of playground equipment. However, those three items will be bid as alternates so they can be eliminated from the project if necessary.

A projected timeline has a preconstruction and design phase from December through July of 2025, awarding of bids in March of 2026, and construction from May 2026 to September 2027.

In other actions from the Dec. 18 meeting, Candice Gockel gave a presentation on the Gilboa-Conesville technology plan. She said the district has been striving to modernize technology within the classroom, including equipping classrooms with updated security and introducing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) courses in grades pre-kindergarten through 4. Gockel added the district needs to upgrade the infrastructure that supports its technology.