Information About Upcoming Capital Project Vote
During the Sept.13, 2018 Board of Education Meeting, LaFayette Central School District’s (LCSD) capital project team presented a newly-proposed project that will focus on improving the safety and security of LCSD campuses. A capital referendum will be held on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018 for consideration by the public, and voting will take place at the LaFayette Junior/Senior High School from 1-9 p.m. A pubic information meeting will be held at the Big Picture School commons, on Thursday Nov. 8 at 5:30 p.m.This new capital project will provide the following improvements at all school buildings:
• Additional Security Cameras
• Campus Notification System
• Door Replacements
• Window Hardening
• Compartmentalization of Buildings Using Corridor Door Lock-Downs
• Masonry Repointing and Stair Replacement
The total cost of these enhancements comes to $3.1 million dollars; however, this project is eligible for building aid through the New York State Education Department, and as such, these enhancements to the campuses should come at no additional cost to the LaFayette community.
LaFayette CSD has also requested the same improvements to be made at the Onondaga Nation School (ONS), which is a state-owned building. Improvements to the ONS are made through allocations in the New York State budget process, and are subject to approval by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of Facilities Management. NYSED has prioritized approval for building enhancements at ONS related to improving the health and safety of the facility.
LCSD has been very progressive in making security improvements. The district recently contracted with Armoured One, a school security firm, to conduct a security audit of our school campuses. While the audit revealed that there are currently several safeguards in place to protect guests across the various LCSD campuses, there is still more work to be done, and the new capital project will incorporate items listed during the audit that are needed to help improve the security of our schools.
The newly-proposed campus notification system will improve communication for building announcements and during emergency events. This notification system can be controlled remotely, and can send out announcements through audio, text message, or email.
Don't forget to mark your calendars!