The Massena Central School Board is weighing options for its next capital project

MASSENA — The next capital project for the Massena Central School District is still in the early planning stages, but school officials are in full swing as they whittle down the list of potential projects.

Superintendent Ron Burke said at a recent meeting that the Facilities Committee recently met with Megan Vanderbrook and Phil Squadrito of King + King, the architectural and engineering firm retained by the district earlier this year. Ben Maslona of Consilieri Fiscali also attended the meeting, he said.

Burke said the committee and consultants met to weigh future projects and estimated costs for the current list of items under discussion.

In addition to projected costs, Burke said the group also weighed which projects should be prioritized as part of the next capital project.

He said that after discussions, the Facilities Committee is re-prioritizing the list and re-budgeting some of the items on the list.

Burke said fiscal aspects are also being weighed, with the capital project expected to take anywhere from three to five years.

“We have what’s called a maximum cost allowance, and I’ll be providing more information to council in the next couple of weeks about that,” Burke said.

Burke said work throughout the district needs to continue, especially among the three elementary schools, which already have money on the books to be used for school upgrades.

Burke said it’s essentially a “use it or lose it” scenario with funding for elementary schools.

“We’re going to go back to the drawing board and come back with a proposal for this capital project that will also involve some more work at the mayor’s office. Part of the reason for this is that the money is there. We get about 97% help and we should use it. If we don’t use it, we basically lose it, and we know we have something to do in elementary school,” he said.

While funding is available for elementary schools, Burke said the bigger ticket items in high school are a different conversation that needs to be had.

He said a number of items were considered “of great importance,” including heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), but came at a high cost.

Burke said the school’s HVAC upgrades and repairs, pool renovations, roof repairs and artificial turf replacement are currently in the $81 million range. Burke noted that the turf field is beyond its recommended lifespan and needs replacement.

But he said those “big ticket items” come at a high cost as the district also weighs what work needs to be done with the transit facility and electrifying the bus fleet.

Roof repairs and HVAC systems also need repair or replacement at the facility, he said.

Those expenses come at a high price as the school also explores electrifying the district’s fleet to meet state regulations.

At a recent board of education meeting, district officials said the district is currently exploring the possibility of using hydrogen cell-powered buses starting in 2027.

The talks also have a local angle, with Air Products building a facility on Pontoon Bridge in the town of Massena.

Air Products will produce green hydrogen that will be used for transportation, especially buses and tractor trailers.

School officials say those discussions are in the early stages, noting that hydrogen-powered vehicles have not gained the same attention as electric vehicles.

But concerns about battery life, especially in the colder winter months, along with long routes have drawn concerns from several stakeholders.

Superintendent Ron Burke commented that the district will continue to weigh all viable options before making any final designation.

As part of the next capital project, school officials are also weighing options to add air conditioning to more facilities, though Burke said they are trying to determine how they can do it in a way the district can afford. actually doing so.

“Right now, it really comes down to large gathering areas,” he said.

Burke said those spaces include “anywhere we could do testing in the late spring, especially middle and high school,” including the auditorium, cafeterias and gyms.

Burke said the Facilities Committee will continue to meet with the goal of presenting a capital project to voters sometime in May 2025.