Owego-Apalachin Receives Approval To Begin Elementary School Construction

The Owego Apalachin School District has finally received approval to begin construction on their new elementary school. After eighteen months of negotiating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the district received written confirmation from FEMA last week promising to fund 85 to 90 percent of the new building. FEMA will not be paying for the school’s new auditorium, a Geo-thermal system that will be installed, and two of the three large instructional spaces. These additions won’t be paid for because they weren’t part of the original building which was devastated by the flood two years ago. The remaining cost of the building will be funded by the state education department building aid, along with money saved in capital reserves. There will be a referendum held on October 22nd to approve the $11 million of funding that will come from the state education department building aid. The district needs a simple majority vote to approve the funding. The district currently expects to begin construction as soon as October 25th. The project is expected to take two years to complete.