Otselic Valley voters approve $17M building project
OTSELIC VALLEY – A total of 436 Otselic Valley voters took to the polls yesterday to decide the fate of a proposed $17 million building project that will have a significant impact on both the OV Junior-Senior High School and Elementary School, located in South Otselic and Georgetown, respectively.
Voters approved the project – 288 to 148.
Superintendent Richard Hughes said he was pleased with both the vote and the voter turnout.
“Nearly half the registered voters in both Chenango and Madison counties came out to vote. I think it’s great that people came out to voice their opinion and make their choice. This decision sets a path for the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.
According to Hughes, approving the merger is “a much better option” than many the district has considered over the last year. Hopefully, he added, the project will “maintain and hopefully expand” educational opportunities for students.
Said Hughes, “That’s what this was all about.”
There will be major changes at both Otselic Valley schools once the project gets underway, according to the superintendent, including expansion of the OV Junior-Senior High School – which will house grades K-12 – and conversion of the Georgetown elementary school into a community and transportation center.
Combining the two campuses – long discussed by district officials and the community in general – will help offset continuing decreases in state aid, as well as increases to retirement and health insurance costs, said Hughes. In addition, the move to one campus will result in a “reduction in staff and other services necessary for the day to day running of the school.”
In the future, only one principal will be needed, as well as a single cafeteria, guidance office and main office, cuts that will help offset tax levy increases associated with the project, according to the superintendent. Even better, he added, educational programs – including electives and extracurricular activities – will remain in place.
“It’s really a win-win situation,” said Hughes. “This project will determine the path the district takes over the course of the next few decades. Current Vikings – and Vikings 20 years from now – will be affected by this vote.”
Contractors are expected to break ground in the spring of 2013, he added, and the building could be finished in time for the 2013-2014 school year, if all goes as planned.
For more information, contact the district office at (315) 653-4042 or visit ovcs.org.
Voters approved the project – 288 to 148.
Superintendent Richard Hughes said he was pleased with both the vote and the voter turnout.
“Nearly half the registered voters in both Chenango and Madison counties came out to vote. I think it’s great that people came out to voice their opinion and make their choice. This decision sets a path for the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.
According to Hughes, approving the merger is “a much better option” than many the district has considered over the last year. Hopefully, he added, the project will “maintain and hopefully expand” educational opportunities for students.
Said Hughes, “That’s what this was all about.”
There will be major changes at both Otselic Valley schools once the project gets underway, according to the superintendent, including expansion of the OV Junior-Senior High School – which will house grades K-12 – and conversion of the Georgetown elementary school into a community and transportation center.
Combining the two campuses – long discussed by district officials and the community in general – will help offset continuing decreases in state aid, as well as increases to retirement and health insurance costs, said Hughes. In addition, the move to one campus will result in a “reduction in staff and other services necessary for the day to day running of the school.”
In the future, only one principal will be needed, as well as a single cafeteria, guidance office and main office, cuts that will help offset tax levy increases associated with the project, according to the superintendent. Even better, he added, educational programs – including electives and extracurricular activities – will remain in place.
“It’s really a win-win situation,” said Hughes. “This project will determine the path the district takes over the course of the next few decades. Current Vikings – and Vikings 20 years from now – will be affected by this vote.”
Contractors are expected to break ground in the spring of 2013, he added, and the building could be finished in time for the 2013-2014 school year, if all goes as planned.
For more information, contact the district office at (315) 653-4042 or visit ovcs.org.
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