Galway Central School District architects, CSArch, issued the district’s Building Condition Survey, which the NYS Education Department requires districts to complete every five years. CSArch presented their findings to the Board of Education on Thursday, March 11, 2021.  

The Building Condition Survey (BCS) identified needs at the K-12 facility and the Bus Garage. Typically, a Building Condition Survey will include recommendations for the work to be done in Year 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 depending on the urgency of the items that need to be addressed. The BCS released in March 2021 categorized all of the recommendations as an immediate need and called for them to be addressed in Year 1. 

Some of the items identified on the BCS for the K-12 Facility include: 

•  Replace the well piping, pumps, and well house

•  Replace the 8,000 gallon underground fuel oil tank in front of the Junior/Senior High School (vintage 1989)

•  Replace the pavilion near the track that collapsed in March 2020

•  Replace VCT following that is in poor or fair condition and abate any remaining VAT (predominantly in corridors)

•  Replace the ACP ceilings that are in poor or fair condition (predominantly in corridors)

•  Replace interior doors that are in poor or fair condition, and replace the hardware that is not compliant with ADA 

•  Replace branch piping in the High School and Elementary School

•  Renovate restrooms that were not included in the most recent capital project and bring them into ADA compliance

•  Replace casework in the 1998 classroom wing and science rooms

Some of the items identified on the BCS for the Bus Garage include: 

•  Replace underground fuel tanks with aboveground tanks

•  Repair pavement with heavy duty asphalt at various locations

•  Replace the underground oil fired cast iron boiler

•  Replace the air handling unit that ventilates the garage and office spaces

•  Improve ventilation to the bus storage garage and service bays

•  Replace the pneumatic system with DDC

•  Replace the fuel dispensing system (fuel island) and underground tanks for gas/diesel

•  Replace the bus vehicle lifts, repair the concrete floor in the service bays, and install epoxy flooring in the service bays and parts room

To read the 5-Year Plan Summary of the Building Condition Report, please click here. 

The Galway CSD Board of Education Facilities Committee has been meeting and discussing these items since the 2016 Capital Improvement Project was completed in January 2020. In addition to considering the work to be done, the Facilities Committee reviewed the tax impact of the 2016 Capital Project, which was not as much as anticipated. The estimated tax impact from the capital project taxpayers approved in 2016 was estimated to be an additional 1.497% to take effect in 2020-21, however, the district was able to hold the tax levy for the 2020-21 school year to 1.99%, which included funding for the entire school year plus the debt from the capital project. 

“We have been very conservative with the taxpayers’ dollars,” said Superintendent Brita Donovan. “We are very conscious of maximizing State Aid and retiring debt so we can maintain a safe and healthy facility with minimal impact to residents. We take great pride in our facilities and want to take care of the taxpayers’ investment in our schools.”