The Daily Mail Online

COXSACKIE — On Dec. 16, the public will vote on a major building and renovation project for the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District, and district officials say federal and state Education Department mandates are one of the driving forces behind the measure.

The mandates include the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was reauthorized in 2004, and the 2008 New York State Response to Intervention (RtI) initiative.

As a result of the NCLB legislation the state issued a mandate requiring all school districts to implement Academic Intervention Services (AIS) for students at every grade level by the fall of 2000. The services are provided to students who are at risk of not meeting state-designated performance levels in reading, math, science and social studies.

School District Superintendent Dr. Earle Gregory acknowledges that student enrollment projections are expected to stabilize, but said that the mandates lead to space constraints.

Board of education president Joseph Garland agreed: “In 2000, when the federal mandate NCLB came into effect, the new Middle School was just completed. At the time of construction there was no way of knowing this mandate would be implemented in New York schools,” said Garland. “The result is that right now AIS are being provided in the library, lobby, closets, athletic equipment cages, and on the stage at lunch.”

Furthermore, AIS regulations mandate additional instruction to students who need extra time, support and skills to meet prescribed learning standards or need support services in areas such as attendance, discipline, family issues, health issues and mobility/transfer issues.

Additionally, IDEA legislation compels districts to mandate services such as occupational, physical and speech therapies, and an April 2008 state Education Department memo indicated that all school districts must implement RtI programs by July 1, 2012.

To accommodate the school’s needs, the proposed building and renovation project impacts every building in the district.

E.J. Arthur Elementary School is going to receive a two-story, four classroom addition and renovations to four existing classrooms, to create a large group instructional room, as well as physical therapy and special education spaces. There will also be improvements made at the building’s main entrance, including a locked entry vestibule and security window to check visitors into the building.

Coxsackie Elementary School is slated to have three new elementary classrooms constructed adjacent to a Middle School addition, with a flexibly designed first floor that officials say will accommodate enrollment shifts between the two schools. Renovations will also be made to existing classrooms to create a large group instruction room and special education space, and improvements will be made to the school’s entry.

The Middle and High School buildings will undergo renovations to existing spaces to meet the need for special education, AIS and small group instruction spaces. The Dr. James Maxwell Media Center, as well as two adjacent computer labs, are slated for reconfiguration to become more effective learning and teaching spaces. The addition of a new two-story classroom wing at the Middle School will allow a wing of the present Middle School to be returned to the High School, to relieve overcrowding there.

Selling it to seniors

Some local senior citizens have expressed concern over the school’s plan, and Athens resident Eugene Hatton has stepped in to help inform them. Hatton is a councilman in the Town of Athens; he lives on the border of the Coxsackie-Athens and Catskill school districts, and votes in the Catskill Central School elections, but he owns property in the Coxsackie-Athens district, and he said he’s interested in both.

Hatton attended a tour of the school Monday morning, and afterward he attended an Athens Senior Club Meeting. He says there were about 35 seniors present, and many of them had questions about the proposed building and renovation project.

“There is no fluff in this proporal. Half of the things included in the proprosal are things that the school will have to get done anyway. The project just makes so much sense — if the state is going to help, why vote no?” he said.

Hatton says he encouraged the seniors to contact the district with questions and concerns, and to tour the building before Dec. 16.

School officials are planning to visit the Coxsackie seniors at Knights of Columbus Hall on Dec. 1.

“This campaign is about meeting the minimal needs and handling the necessary upgrades that take care of students and protect the investment we have made in our facilities — nothing more, nothing less,” said Gregory.

“Apathy can kill even the best project,” added Hatton, “If we can get people informed, that’s what we need to do.”

To reach reporter Billie Dunn, please call 518-943-2100, ext. 3323, or e-mail bdunn@thedailymail.net

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