Press release
BATAVIA, NY—At the Batavia City School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, July 10, Superintendent Jason Smith introduced a capital improvement project proposal for review and discussion. The Batavia City School District’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, which includes two school board members, district leadership, architects from Clark Patterson Lee, and staff from Campus Construction, collaborated on the proposal, timeline, and budget.
The proposed scope of work includes necessary updates to all BCSD buildings, including security upgrades, field upgrades, auditorium upgrades, and improvements to the Richmond Memorial Library.
Additionally, to address substantial structural improvements needed at Batavia Middle School, the proposed scope of work includes reconfiguring grade levels at each building to allow sufficient time, resources, and space to address BMS building improvements.
The proposed grade-level reconfiguration is as follows:
Batavia High School: Grades 9-12 (no change)
Batavia Middle School: Grades 6-8
John Kennedy Intermediate: Grades 3-5
Jackson Primary: Grades 1-2
Robert Morris: Pre-School, Universal Pre-K, and Kindergarten
“At its core, fifth grade is an elementary grade, and we believe that one of the highlights of this proposal is the return of fifth grade to an elementary setting at John Kennedy Intermediate,” said Superintendent Jason Smith. “With the well-received opening of Robert Morris this past school year, coupled with the importance and renewed vigor (and significant state funding) for early childhood education, the committee and I are enthusiastic about reconfiguring Robert Morris as an ‘early childhood education center.’”
The Board of Education will formally review the capital improvement project proposal and vote on approval at an upcoming meeting in October. Pending Board approval, the community will vote on the $45 million proposal on December 14, 2023, with a target completion date of 2027. There will be no grade reconfigurations for the upcoming school year.
89% of the funding is covered by New York State Aid, and the remaining 11% of the funding is covered by the Batavia City School District Capital Reserve Fund, resulting in a zero percent tax increase of the City of Batavia school tax levy as a result of this project.
“It was a priority of the Board and our leadership team that this capital improvement project comes at no additional cost to our Batavia community,” said Board of Education President John Marucci. “We have our Capital Reserve Fund in place for these types of projects, and we’re grateful to the Batavia community for voting to approve these reserves in the past, knowing they would be applied to future projects.”
Pending Board approval of the proposal in October, the Batavia City School District will present the full scope of the project to the Batavia community at various settings and public forums. Additional information will be provided as the project progresses.
“Since Jason Smith joined us as superintendent nearly 18 months ago, our Buildings and Grounds Committee has been preparing for this proposal to ensure we’re presenting the best possible options to our community,” said Board member John Reigle. “This project includes important and necessary upgrades to our existing buildings and grounds, including substantial construction improvements to Batavia Middle School, which currently stands as our oldest and most historic building in the district.”