QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Queensbury Union Free School District has the single largest student body in all of Warren County. When your education system is that large, the price tag on modernizing and repairing school buildings follows suit. That’s just the case for a proposed $39 million capital project for Queensbury Elementary School.

Announced with the title “Success for our Future,” the project proposes reconfigured school wings, a new learning commons, and the retrofitting of the current cafeteria into a “cafegymatorium,” to be used for everything from school lunch to community events and physical education activities. Furniture would be updated with flexible desks added, and chalkboards would be replaced with whiteboards.

“Elementary faculty, staff, and community have spent two years planning this important and necessary project,” said Superintendent of Schools Kyle Gannon. “Right now, our youngest students are receiving a 21st-century education, yet their classrooms are still stuck in the 1960s.”

The work wouldn’t all be indoors. A new entrance would more closely resemble the street-facing entry at Queensbury High School. Two new playgrounds would be constructed – one for UPK and kindergarten, and another for grades 1-3. The location of the current playground will become an access point for traffic around the school campus.

Taxes play no role in the $39 million budget. 75 cents of every dollar will be paid for by state tax revenue, supplemented by a $4 million capital reserve.

“Our goal is to construct a foundation for lifelong learning and endless possibilities for our elementary students,” said QES Principal Jessica Rossetti. “This project will help our students build their dreams and inspire their futures.”

The project is up for a vote on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the elementary school gymnasium at 431 Aviation Road. Voting is open from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Informational meetings will be held on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, with further details to be announced.

The project wouldn’t be the first post-COVID initiative for the school to take on. In August, Queensbury completed work on a new turf sports field.