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Ask the Superintendent - August 22, 2007
In the last week news of a proposed capital
project (building expansion) for the Goshen Central
School District has appeared in local newspapers. In
an effort to add clarity to these articles I offer
the following update. As you are aware, our
community has been experiencing growth for some
time. Our schools have also been impacted by an
increase in enrollment. To that end, for the last 2½
years a Board of Education sanctioned committee,
known as the Growth Task Force, has been busy
studying the impact of this growth on our school
district. This committee is a diverse group of
individuals that has increased in number to as many
as 28 members. It consists of parents, teachers, PTO
officers, businessmen, realtors, leaders of youth
activities, the District architect, village and town
officials, board of education members, and central
office administrators.
The Growth Task Force has taken multiple bus tours
throughout our district to view new construction and
visited other school districts in Orange and
Westchester Counties to learn about their
experiences with capital projects. Focus groups
formed in each of our school buildings have offered
suggestions to this committee, and two professional
demographic studies were completed by a demographer
from Advisory Solutions. One was finished in January
of 2006 and the other in August of 2007. An update
on the progress of the Growth Task Force Committee
was given to the Board of Education on October 16,
2006, and a formal presentation, with the assistance
of the district’s architect, was made on March 26,
2007. Additionally, the Growth Task Force offered in
writing a “Summary Recommendation” to the Board of
Education in July of 2007.
The Growth Task Force has considered multiple
options such as, purchasing land, building new
schools, renovating existing buildings in our
community, and the construction of additions to
existing school buildings. The conceptual plans
continue to change and evolve as new information is
reviewed. The school board is still studying all
options and currently is receiving excellent advice
from professionals in the construction industry.
Financial consultants have also been working with
the district to maximize our building aid ratio and
to review bonding costs to the district as they
relate to this potential expansion. The district has
undertaken additional studies to view the impact any
changes to our campus may create. Due to the
magnitude of this project, the Board of Education is
proceeding with caution in an effort to make the
most responsible decision.
The Board of Education will be spending a great deal
of time reviewing the potential expansion of our
district at our regularly scheduled meeting on
September 4th and at a workshop on September 10th.
Both are open to the public.
Roy Reese
Superintendent of Schools |
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