Cooperstown Central asks voters to approve elementary gym updates

By Ted Potrikus • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

Cooperstown Central School District voters head back to the polls December 14 to decide on a $2.5 million capital project referendum that would complete renovations on the elementary school gymnasium initially approved in 2019.

School Superintendent Dr. Sarah Spross said the proposal at hand would have no change in the tax impact on district property owners.

“We cannot emphasize that enough,” she said. “Voters approved the elementary school gym project back in 2019 as a part of a larger capital project referendum but then, of course, COVID came along.”

According to a school district publication, a combination of state aid and debt service retiring would cover the entire $2.5 million up for consideration.

Work already completed under the 2019 referendum includes renovation to the library, gym, and family and consumer science rooms at the high school.

“When it came time to move forward with the elementary school gym project, the same supply chain and materials challenges facing every business hit us hard,” Dr. Spross said. “The money originally identified in the first referendum wasn’t enough.”

The district’s Board of Education, she said, decided to go back to the voters for approval to cover the post-pandemic cost increase.

“The elementary gym hasn’t changed since it was built in 1956,” she said. Under the architect plan for the proposed renovation, the new gym would lift the roof, improve safety features, and streamline sight lines.

“A lot of community organizations want to use that facility,” she said. “The renovation would make it a much better space for our students and for the community.”

Voters can cast their ballots from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. on December 14 in the auditorium of the Cooperstown Junior-Senior High School at 39 Linden Avenue in Cooperstown. Voters may request an absentee ballot by making a request, either in writing or in person, to Wendy Lansing, District Clerk, 39 Linden Avenue; completed absentee ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. on December 14.