Nine schools and two other buildings will be refurbished as part of the latest phase of the Rochester School Modernization Program. The bill allocating the funds was signed by Governor Kathy Hochul this week.
During her remarks at James Monroe High School Friday, Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small said the upgrades will be focused on adding career and technical education features, modernizing spaces, and improving access for students with disabilities and those who speak foreign languages.
“When you have spaces, that are engaging, that are new, that are modern, and exciting, that just amplifies the joy that our scholars and our families can experience,” said Myers-Small.
This is the third phase of the program which started in 2006. Heralded as one of the largest public work projects in Rochester’s history, more than $700 million spent so far. This third phase adds $475 million to the tally reaching the program’s stated $1.2 Billion goal. During Friday’s news conference Assemblyman Harry Bronson said this will likely be the final piece of the program.
The 15-year-old program has not been without controversy. Nine contractors involved in a previous phase of the project faced investigations from the FBI and the New York State Attorney General’s office for lying about how diverse their organizations were in order to get contracts. They ultimately settled with the state for about a million dollars in damages.
To prevent more fraud, Bronson, a long-time backer of the modernization program, said guardrails include close monitoring of contracts by the state are built into this legislation.
“Recognizing that this is a lot of money, in phase three we put safety nets into the legislation to make sure that we stay within budget, to make sure that the local share is within the allotted percentage because if you don’t know, most of this is state dollars,” said Bronson.
According to a representative from Bronson’s office, the schools scheduled to refurbishing include Joseph C. Wilson High School, NE/NW ‐ Douglass Campus, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. #9, Dr. Charles T. Lunsford #19, Nathaniel Rochester #3, Edison Career & Tech HS, Franklin Educational Campus, James Monroe Campus and East Campus. Two swing spaces, where the district temporarily holds classes when buildings are unavailable will also be repaired.
State Senator Jeremy Cooney, a city school graduate, sponsored the bill in the State Senate. As city schools face declining enrollment, Cooney argued that the investing in school buildings will make the district more desirable for parents
“We want them to stay in the city, we want them to feel that we have their backs. So, we have to put our best foot forward by giving them the best type of facilities for their scholars to learn,” said Cooney.
The law requires the district to complete the upgrades within a decade but Myers-Small expects them to be complete within two or three years.
