Submitted Photos
Some of Cassadaga Valley’s PreK students during the Homecoming Pep-Rally Dance Off.
The move is part of the district’s ongoing discussion of capital projects and the condition of Cassadaga Valley’s buildings.
The Board of Education was given a presentation by Young & Wright focused on both the current capital projects that have been going on in the district and the condition of some of the buildings. Superintendent Tammy Mangus said these two focuses are a goal for the board.
“The Board of Education has a goal to ensure that our physical facilities are not only safe, effective, efficient and innovative, but also showcase district pride,” Mangus said. “As a result of this goal, they remain committed to long-range fiscal planning regarding both capital outlays and capital improvement planning to maintain and upgrade our facilities in a way that makes us Valley Proud, while having minimal to no impact to our taxpayers. This presentation was essential to this long-range planning focus.”
Mangus said the architects shared with the board what the district needs, as shown in the building conditions survey, along with the future hopes of the district, which were discussed following a recent board and superintendent facility walk through. Part of the discussion at the meeting focused on the district’s pre-kindergarten students and their rooms.
A Cassadaga Valley Pre-K student helps to make a sundae on Middle – High School Principal, Mr. Tonelli’s head.
“As this presentation was about our facilities as a whole, how we currently use them and what we envision for the future, we are looking at how all programs are currently scheduled and placed,” Mangus said. “Since 2021, our PK students have been a welcomed addition to our Middle-High School Building. There isn’t a person in the building who doesn’t smile just a little bit brighter as our youngest cougars travel from place to place, but after a review of the impact of their placement at MHS, including transportation and access to services, school events and special classes, it became clear that we needed to find a way to bring our PK classes back to our Sinclairville Elementary School.”
The plan is for the Pre-K students to return to the elementary school next fall, and a team of teachers and the elementary school principal are working on a transition plan for that, Mangus said. Other next steps are being planned by the board as the school year progresses, including investigating what the board and district needs to do to ensure that the facilities remain safe, effective, efficient and innovative while promoting district pride. Mangus said big-picture items are also being looked at, regarding how the district envisions future programs and services. Discussions on these areas are expected to continue throughout the school year into next fall, when Mangus said there is expected to be another zero-impact community vote on the next capital improvement project.
Board President Aaron Richner said that this type of work is done by the board to continue to be open to the community and students.
“We do this work, because it is the hope of the Board of Education that our facilities are open to the community and act as a hub for community involvement, student learning and Cougar Pride,” Richner said.
Mangus described the start of the current school year as a “facilities forward” start to the year. Multiple projects have been underway, including the emergency project for the entryways where it was discovered that salt used to melt icy pathways had caused degradation to the steel beams there. Other work capital project wise has included Phase Two of the voter approved capital improvement project from 2022, which has had a focus on an overhaul of the band and chorus room, rooftop repairs of the bus garage, new boilers at the high school, and a heated sidewalk project. Steel degradation has also been discovered at the bus garage, also caused by salt melt, so a second emergency project is underway for the district to repair that building to keep it safe.
Board members inspect the Middle-High School roods during the recent facilities walk through.
“The district had also received a large-scale grant allowing us to invest in fob-activated doors for all internal rooms to improve school safety,” Mangus said. “Once complete, all doors can be locked within seconds. When it comes to Cougar Pride, we have enough to fill the entire valley.”
Board members look at the new Middle-High School Boilers during a recent facilities walk through.
The completed entryway showcasing the heated sidewalks and reconditioned entryways after the discovery of steel degradation.
A degraded steel beam after concrete was removed.