An overview of Newfield schools capital project

The Newfield Central School District (CSD) is currently in the design phase of its upcoming $21 million capital project.

When the community voted in favor of the project in March, Newfield CSD Superintendent Eric Hartz said the district quickly began the process of laying out how each of the buildings within the district will be upgraded.

According to a Newfield CSD newsletter, upgrades to the district’s middle/high school building will include the creation of a secure vestibule with a check-in window, a new school counseling office suite, adding air conditioning to the gymnasium, updating the student and staff bathrooms in the high school, an update to the building’s public address (PA) and notification system and more.

The elementary school building’s upgrades will include increased access control of the exterior doors, updates to the PA and notification system, the installation of select cross-corridor area doors and the implementation of enclosed stairways.

The bus garage — which Hartz said needs significant work done — will include updating the structure’s security cameras and PA system, adding bus charging stations and infrastructure, paving the bus parking area, updating the HVAC system, renovating offices and bathrooms, reconstructing steel columns and improving mezzanine access.

Other site work on the school’s grounds will include reconstructing parking lots and driveways, providing stormwater improvements, improving access to the stadium and plaza, updating the basketball and tennis courts, installing a drainage system for the baseball and softball fields and more.

“This isn’t a really flashy project, but it’s a lot of things that need to be done for the safety of our kids,” Hartz said, noting that he anticipates construction to last 14 to 18 months.

Hartz said the district plans to submit a design and site plan to the New York State Department of Education by late fall for review. The hope, Hartz added, is to receive approval from the state by spring 2025 to begin the project next summer.

The bus garage, built in 1976, has seen “much-needed” updates to its electrical system so far, Hartz said.

Newfield CSD received an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to purchase three electric buses. The total cost of the buses was around $200,000, and Hartz said some of the EPA funds and an additional grant helped cover expenses for the bus garage’s electrical upgrades.

With the EV buses ordered and ready to be shipped, Hartz said students will be in the new buses by the first day of school on Sept. 5.

Hartz said the bus garage’s roof was updated in the late 2000s, but he noted that the steel structure “needs to be redone,” the doors that “go up and down” are building up rust, and the steel where the buses are parked is “starting to rot.”

“It’s had limited work done to it. It’s time for an upgrade [with the bus garage],” Hartz said.

Hartz mentioned that the current entrance to the high school will become the entrance to the middle school and high school, with the addition of a double-locking door system and a larger vestibule.

The district also plans to move the high school principal’s office to the back of the library “to utilize the space,” Hartz said. The current space is where the counseling suite, with five additional offices, will be constructed.

Hartz said the high school’s bathrooms, which were built in 1976, have since then had “very minimal work” done. The upstairs and downstairs bathrooms “will look much different” when renovated, Hartz said.

Minor projects are in place for the middle school, Hartz said. The district plans to replace the flexible walls, from the 1990s, with permanent walls. Each school building will also have its PA system change from an analog to a digital setup.

“It’ll be a safety piece that is much needed in this district, and it will be consistent throughout all of the buildings,” Hartz said.

Newfield CSD is tackling water mitigation issues with ways to “sort out” the stormwater and drainage systems provided by the town, Hartz said. That part of the project will assist with the district’s plans for new parking lots, a new bus loop and a parent pickup and drop-off area.

“It will be much safer than what we have right now,” Hartz said.

Hartz explained that the funds that will be used to cover project costs have been collected over the last five years.

“There’s no additional tax money that we asked for,” Hartz said. “The money we have in a lumped capital reserve fund is in place for this project. It’s money that the taxpayers already put in.”

Hartz noted that once the project is complete, the district’s buildings will have a fresh look.

“It’s exciting,” Hartz said. “When it’s all said and done, on the safety side of things, the buildings will be in a good place.”

Newfield Notes appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.