Unatego Prepares Project, But Won't Rush Consolidation
By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
Unatego Central School’s proposed $27.6 million capital improvement plan comes at the perfect time to keep the needed school upgrades from raising taxes on district voters, according to Superintendent Dave Richards.
“We have an opportunity with our debt where we have some debt falling off, so we can replace it with new debt without any increase of the tax levy,” Richards said.
State building aid funding will pay for 87.5% of the project, Richards said.
“If we don’t do a project, then we lose that revenue, too,” Richards said.
Leftover EXCEL funds and about $1.3 million in capital reserves will pay for the remainder of the project, Richards said.
The project would be the first is about a decade for UCS, and the first since the district embarked on a long-term plan to turn three campuses into one.
However, the project will not complete the consolidation and will instead focus on needed improvements at the district’s two remaining campuses, the elementary school at 265 Main St. in the town of Unadilla, and the middle/high school at 2641 state Route 7, in the town of Otego.
Eventually, the elementary school will be closed and all students will attend school at the Otego campus, Richards said.
