Building Our Spartan Future - Capital Project

Building Our Spartan Future - Plan: 

On January 12, 2023 the ESM community overwhelmingly approved a $19.1 million building improvement plan in a capital project vote. Called "Building Our Spartan Future," it will continue our longstanding commitment to upgrades and safety features - this time for key areas of the High School and Transportation Center. The project is not anticipated to increase school taxes.

Proposed CHS Work: 

The approximately $17 million in improvements at ESM Central High School to highly visible, highly used areas, will benefit students, staff and the ESM community. Indoor and outdoor instructional resource work will include renovations to the gymnasium and auto tech classroom, replacement of the artificial turf and track surface at the athletic stadium and upgrades to the baseball infield. Building integrity, modernization and safety projects will include a security-related renovation of the main entrance, roof replacement, replacement of interior and exterior doors, security hardware for interior doors, mechanical/electrical/plumbing upgrades and upgraded data cabling.

Numerous site work will improve safety, including a reconstruction of the student parking lot, renovation of the front bus loop/parking lot, and modification of the student drop-off/pickup area. Further improvements include renovated athletic stadium bathrooms & press box, energy-efficient stadium lighting and digital signage.

Proposed Transportation Center Work:

The district will also make key Transportation Center improvements, including building infrastructure upgrades, paving, energy-efficient exterior lighting and a study on the capacity of electric vehicle (EV) charging for the bus fleet's future. This portion of the project cost would be about $2.1 million.

Potential Tax Impact: 

The District receives a significant amount of state building aid for capital projects and this, combined with reserve funds and declining debt from previous capital projects, means that the $19.1 million price tag for the project is not anticipated to increase school taxes.

More Details:

View the Capital Project Overview mailed to ESM Residents (link to PDF). 

Proposed Timeline:

 

Building Condition Survey:	Completed
Preliminary Project Plans	Completed
Board of Ed. Adopts Project Resolutions	Completed
Public Communication Plan	Completed
Capital Project Vote	Approved Jan. 12, 2023
Project Design & SED Approval	Feb - Aug 2023
Construction	Spring 2024 - Winter 2025

Quotable:

“The District’s care for the quality of our school buildings and the safety of our campuses is a primary responsibility,” said ESM Superintendent Dr. Donna DeSiato. “At ESM there has been a transformation of our learning environments in alignment with our Strategic Plan. And Building Our Spartan Future will continue our commitment to upgrades and safety features for key areas of the High School and Transportation Center.”

“Our youngest students are now experiencing the value of updated elementary facilities through the recently completed Elementary Objective project and they will move on to Pine Grove Middle School, itself a model among the state’s public schools,” said Dr. DeSiato. “Building Our Spartan Future will continue this momentum by investing in responsible facility improvements that would greatly enhance the quality and safety of key areas at CHS and the Transportation Center.”
 

Capital Projects History:

The ESM community has supported a number of projects for the improvement and maintenance of our facilities. As a result, our District is proud to offer state-of-the-art teaching and learning environments. We continue to implement critical upgrades for security, safety and infrastructure as needed and as approved by the ESM community.