The Potsdam School District's $18 million capital projects plan would go a long way towards improving safety and energy efficiency by allowing repairs and upgrades to several areas at the high school, middle school and Lawrence Elementary.
 
"We need to look at the biggest bang for the buck down the road," said Superintendent Patrick Brady.

Brady sees the proposed work as a necessary investment for the future.

The work would cover everything from replacing carpeting, now being held together with duct tape, to crumbling and deteriorating building exteriors.

Interior lighting and heating improvements would also be included.

"Those types of things...are going to give us some energy efficiency and save us some money," said Brady.
 
Concrete steps at the high school, now crumbling and roped off for safety concerns, would be one of the areas addressed in the capital project.
 
Altogether, more than $10 million would be spent on improvements to the high school, including auditorium renovations, replacing deteriorating bricks and upgrading windows.

Upgrades to the middle school would total $3 million and would include the reconstruction of the loading dock area and rear parking lot as well as some roof repairs.

Lawrence Avenue elementary would also see more than $3 million in upgrades including a roof replacement, new food service equipment and new carpeting.
 
State building aid - money that is specifically doled out to schools with building projects - would cover 86 percent of the project costs with the remainder covered by a combination of capital reserve funds and budgeted funds from the retirement of a prior building project debt.
 
School officials plan to give taxpayers a tour of the planned building on Monday night with a public hearing set for December 3.

If approved by district voters December 12, construction would begin in April 2014.