Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
WSWHE BOCES plans to close its three main educational operations in Hudson Falls, Saratoga and Glens Falls — and build a new $96 million facility on 25 acres off Northway Exit 16 in Wilton.
If all goes as hoped, Dr. Parker said, “Construction would begin in October 2025, and we’d be welcoming students and staff to a more modern, centrally located facility by the fall of 2027.”
A flier published last month, entitled “Vision 2027: Future Focus Facilities Project,” says BOCES plans a 20-year lease on a site “within a mile of Exit 16.”
Dr. Parker declined to further identify the location.
BOCES plans to construct three buildings comprising a total 290,500 square feet — one for its Career and Technical Education programs, and two for Exceptional Learners in grades K-6 and 7-12.
“One of our key goals here at BOCES is to ensure that we have state of the art learning spaces….” Dr. Parker said.
“Our committee reviewed the building conditions, our financial options, identified our priorities, and focused on whether we should renovate our existing facilities, potentially relocate or build new facilities.
“We are limited by the size and the scope of the buildings that we have currently.
“For example, only districts that send to our Myers Center are able to take advantage of our Horse Care program, because we only offer that at one site at Saratoga.
“Or we offer a Video Game Design program, but the only students who have access to that are students who attend our Hudson Falls site.
“This would allow us to combine, so that more students, and in fact, all students have access to all of our programs.”
Exit 16 “happens to be centrally located, Dr. Parker says. “Time-wise, it’s actually easier for districts to have a location that’s right off the Northway, even though it’s a couple of exits down, as compared to having to make their way through Hudson Falls” to get to the Dix Avenue site.
“It comes out to about the same, or a little less, traveling down the Northway. When we talk about transportation efficiencies, we have districts who are sending to multiple centers,” for example, sending elementary students to Sanford Street in Glens Falls and then Hudson Falls, or Henning Road in Saratoga.
“We talk about districts being able to even collaborate for bussing, because now they’re all going to the same place.
“In addition to that, this is an expanded facility, so we’ll be able to accommodate more students than we’re able to accommodate currently, which is significant for our region.”
“We have wait list,” Dr. Parker said.
“We are limited,” both for CTE programs such as welding, and even for mandated education students.
“In our Exceptional Learners division, which is special education, we serve about 264 students. Our new facilities would enable us to accommodate over 300 students.”
She said they now serve “just over 1,200 students” in 22 career and technical programs.
“Not only will we be able to accommodate more students in our existing programs…if our business and industry partners say we have a need for a standalone plumbing program, an electrical program, a civic engineering or green energy program — we just don’t have the space in our facilities to do that, whereas we will have the ability under this model to add additional programs,”
“Being able to start from scratch in the design of the facility also allows us to take a look at where student interest lies.”
The financial share of the 31 WSWHE BOCES school districts would be based on “RWADA,” pronounced rah-wada, “Resident Weighted Average Daily Attendance,” Dr. Parker said. The cost will be spread over 20 years, she said.
BOCES offers technical education, “exceptional” or special needs student programs and administrative support services for 31 school districts in Washington, Saratoga, Warren, Hamilton and Essex Counties. All 31 districts have participated in the decision-making for this project, Dr. Parker said.
BOCES is run by a 15-member Board of Education whose members represent the 31 districts. Board President is Lin L. King of Lake George.
Tim Havens questions plan
Tim Havens, a BOCES grad who owns the Falls Farm and Garden business in Hudson Falls, expressed alarm on Facebook at BOCES consolidation plan.
“I vow to do everything I can to make sure that this opportunity for vocational education for all our rural outlying schools doesn’t get hampered by the plan to close Hudson Falls and Saratoga BOCES and create a new BOCES facility in Wilton,” he wrote.
Mr. Havens tells his personal story of finding BOCES as a chronic absentee student in the 10th grade. His school and future success, he wrote, “wouldn’t have happened, had (I) not gone to BOCES.”
He told The Chronicle he planned to meet with BOCES officials later this week.
“I’m a logistics guy. Nothing against progress, but I have a real problem with waste, and also have a real problem with checking off the blanks. I want to see these kids get an education. Moving the facility to another location is going to be farther away for these rural districts, is not going to allow the kids to get there in time, and it’s going to be disruptive to those kids that are there in time.”
“Years ago,” Mr. Havens said, “greater minds chose this (Hudson Falls) location because of its central ability, not far off the Northway, central to the rural districts. It was a pretty brilliant move, a real coup at the time. They shouldn’t be messing with it.”
He said, too, the BOCES Center on Dix Avenue, opened in September 1971, is the newest school building in the BOCES district, “so this is a modern facility.”
“If it’s lacking space, they’ve got a couple areas that lend themselves to an addition, which would cost far less than the move to a new location. I’m concerned that the administration is blinded by the light of a new facility, and are checking off the box that, I’m going to accomplish something as an administrator, not so much accomplish educating the kids.” — Cathy DeDe
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