Work on a $162.5 million facilities project in the Kingston City School District (KCSD) looks likely to begin next summer with the first of a series of phases focusing on facilities untouched during the recent Kingston High School renovation program.
The plans were discussed during a meeting of the KCSD Board of Education held on Wednesday, November 8, with Armand Quadrini, managing principal of KSQ Design, a New York City and Tulsa, Oklahoma-based architecture firm, sharing the details of what he called a “project bundling strategy,” with plans currently with the State Education Department awaiting approval.
For example, Quadrini said, bundled work on both J. Watson Bailey Middle School and Harry L. Edson Elementary School would unfold in two phases, with work like window replacement that might be disruptive to students occurring in Summer 2024, followed by projects that can take place during the school year and finishing the following summer.
“The idea is to really hit it hard the first summer, do the heavy lifting, the removals and anything that’s sort of loud would happen,” Quadrini said.“And then work during the school year, second shift, we coordinate with that with the principal and then finish up over the second summer. So that’s a 14 month period (per school bundle).”
Among the projects at each of the schools is window replacement with an eye on energy efficiency.
“These are essentially single pane windows from the ’60s,” Quadrini said. “Window replacement is not only good for our carbon footprint and energy economy, but it also is good for the safety of the school.”
Other school bundles will unfold similarly, with George Washington and Meyer Elementary schools work occurring 2026 through 2027; Chambers, Graves and John F. Kennedy Elementary schools in 2027 through 2028; and M. Clifford Miller Middle School and Crosby Elementary School in 2028 through 2029.
Additional work in the plan includes M. Clifford Miller Middle School receiving $9.9 million in air-conditioning and ventilation upgrades, J. Watson Bailey Middle School $13.8 million, Chambers Elementary $5 million, Crosby Elementary $5.8 million, Ernest C. Myer Elementary $5.6 million, George Washington Elementary $5.5 million, Harry L. Edson Elementary $6.4 million, J.F.K. Elementary $3.9 million, and Robert R. Graves $8.5 million.
Other areas covered include:
M. Clifford Miller Middle School: $13.7 million for wood floor reinforcing, elevator renovation, exterior rescue ladders, science lab improvements, and fixing a water leak over the auditorium stage.
J. Watson Bailey Middle School: $29.4 million to add 80 parking spaces, new water services, concrete curb replacement, replacing windows and roofing, main office renovations, repair of a gym divider roof beam, refurbishing the kitchen loading dock, and a renovation of the auditorium.
Chambers Elementary School: $6 million to add 30 parking spaces, repair walkways, exterior playground and drainage improvements, replace exterior kindergarten doors, undergo restroom upgrades, replace the kitchen grease interceptor, add water bottle fill stations, add a portable generator hook-up, and upgrade the fire alarm system.
Crosby Elementary School: $8.3 million for 33 additional parking spaces, exterior walkway repair, playground relocation, installing window shades, replacing the metal ceiling in the kitchen, renovating the cafeteria, and upgrading the fire protection system.
Myer Elementary School: $9.7 million for 14 new parking spaces, sewer system replacement, exterior stair replacement, resurfacing the playground, replacing termite-damaged floors, replacing 62-year-old windows, and refurbishing interior stairs and railings.
George Washington Elementary School: $13.4 million for green upgrades to the outdoor and community activity areas, parking lot repaving, exterior lighting, facade brick repointing, adding an elevator, installing rescue windows, and auditorium renovation.
Harry L. Edson Elementary School: $10.2 million for sidewalk and access improvements, repaving the path to the lower recreation field, adding windows, restroom renovations, fire protection system upgrades, replacing kitchen waste piping, adding water bottle fill stations, installing a portable generator hook up, and fire alarm system upgrades.
John F. Kennedy Elementary School: $5.1 million for interior door replacements, restroom renovation, replacing water lines, refurbishing kitchen waste piping, adding water bottle filling stations, fire alarm upgrades, and public address system upgrades.
Graves Elementary School: $11.3 million to create a new parent pickup area and new bus area, replace soccer field drains, add a canopy to a portable building, replace windows, restroom renovations, and replace wood doors and frames.
Air conditioning and ventilation upgrades are also scattered across the project, with school officials citing studies that showed that when the classroom temperature gets over 80 degrees, productivity and learning drops to zero. And as hot weather extends further into the school year, that can result in significant learning loss.
Some facade work and window replacement come with a need for design decisions. Bailey, for example, may have some windows that viewed from a distance look like a piano keyboard.
“We looked at a number of different options,” Quadrini said.“The one that really drew our attention and that we brought forward for final development has to do with ideas that we had about celebrating the arts in Kingston and specifically performance arts and theater. And some people when they look at the proposed elevation can see the piano keys in the design of the design. Not everybody can see them, but it is a subtle reference and really a celebration of the arts.”
Project managers and school officials said they will plan stakeholder meetings for each of the schools for further design input.
The district’s five-year $162.5 million capital plan will use $10 million in capital reserve and be further covered by the district’s roughly 75 percent state building aid formula. District voters approved the proposal in May of this year by a margin of 2,212-1,005.
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