GERMANTOWN—In response to a letter from the Board of Education, eight Germantown Central School District community members met Tuesday for the first time as the GCSD Community Facilities Committee.
A release from the district says that committee members represent a variety of stakeholder groups: parents, taxpayers, scouts, athletics, businesses, and the Zoning Board of Appeals in one of the district’s towns. Four additional volunteers were unable to attend the first meeting. The committee seeks additional volunteers to ensure that all groups in the school community are represented.
David Sammel of Sammel Architecture facilitated Tuesday’s meeting, but the committee will appoint a community member as its chairperson. School district employees and Board of Education members will not serve on the committee but will play a major role in providing information as requested by the committee.
The committee’s task is to gather and review information regarding the school facilities in order to determine if the facilities need to be altered to meet the needs of the students and the community. Specific areas to be examined are educational programs, extracurricular programs, safety and security, accessibility, technology, physical building and grounds. The committee will also review the financial impact of the potential project on local taxes.
At its next meeting, Tuesday, February 25, the committee will tour the building and meet with the head custodian to discuss building needs. Tuesday, March 4, representatives from the district’s Crisis Management Team will meet with the Committee regarding safety and security. All meetings are held at 6 p.m. in the school’s music room and are open to the public.
The district says the expected outcome of the committee’s work is a prioritized list of facility needs and a recommendation for a capital project to the Board of Education by late spring or summer. Anyone with questions, or interested in serving on the Committee, should call Linda Anderson, district clerk, at 518 537-6281 ext. 302.
