BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

CANTON --The Canton Central School District Board of Education will consider for approval a referendum to fund an additional $10.5 million for a capital project. This will bring the total cost of the project to $38 million, according to Superintendent Ron Burke.

"This amount will cover the full scope of the project," Burke said.

Burke said that all low-bidders have agreed to hold their prices through mid-February in order to allow the District to seek approval from the voters for the additional spending.

“Currently, our anticipated building aid is just over 90%,” the superintendent said. “While difficult to ask voters for more money in these challenging times, we have building issues that need to be addressed for both health and safety as well as to maintain a high quality program of instruction.”

Low-bid contractors reported that supply chain and inflation have driven the prices up as much as 30%, Burke said. There is indication that these prices will only continue to increase into the foreseeable future.

“While expensive today, these necessary renovations will likely only increase in costs over the next few years,” he said.

Originally the school board had considered pushing out some less essential parts of the project.

The new vote is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 from noon until 8 p.m. in the high school library. This is pending board approval at tonight's special meeting of the Board of Education at 7 p.m.

"Prior to the opening of bids on December 7, we were growing increasingly concerned about the effect of supply chain and inflationary forces on the cost of the project. As a result, we drafted a number of alternates for the project," he said. "Although these components were necessary, it was deemed potentially possible to not have them completed for an extra year or two."

Burke said some of these alternatives included parts of the HVAC contract to replace heating units that are at the end of their operational life expectancy. Another alternative was the reconfiguration of the high school main office to enhance security for the campus.

"For the health and safety of our students and staff, these are essential," he said.

The super said the board remains committed to completing the entire project that was approved by voters, as the work is essential.

"While not all will agree with every aspect of the project, we need to understand that addressing one aspect of the campus often impacts other areas," he said.

After an exhaustive study of the campus parking situation, Burke said it was determined that the current soccer field was the best location for additional parking.

“This transformation necessitates the creation of a new soccer field. For numerous reasons, it was determined that an artificial turf field best meets the needs of our students,” he said.

Construction has not started on any part of the project.

“We received final approval from the New York State Education Department on November 9 which allowed us to formally solicit bids,” Burke said. “We are now asking voters to approve additional funding to complete the project in its entirety. Should the voters approve the referendum, construction will begin in spring.”

The original cost of the project was around $27 million.