Camillus, N.Y. — Families in the West Genesee Central School District will soon decide whether to spend $78 million in upgrades to the district’s infrastructure and transportation facilities.
If approved in a Dec. 9 vote, the bulk of the money would go toward the construction of a new transportation center on the site of the former Westvale Golf Course, a 117-acre property the district purchased for $4 million in December 2023.
The district also plans to double the size of West Genesee High School’s parking lot and add a new street connecting the lot to Kasson Road.
It also wants to make additions to West Genesee Intermediate School — including the construction of a new playground and office for its school psychologist — and make smaller upgrades at Stonehedge Elementary School.
District officials hope the renovations to the high school parking lot, which would also include the construction of both a parent drop-off and bus loop, will ease traffic at the start and end of the school day, according to plans presented at several informational meetings. The renovations would also upgrade some of the schools’ infrastructure.
The bulk of the money for the $78 million project would come from state taxpayers, according to the district. Another $3 million would come from the district’s savings.
The rest, $26.3 million, would come from local taxpayer money over 30 years.
For a home valued at $250,000, that would mean an additional $84 in annual property taxes once the full increase takes effect in the 2030–31 school year.
The district plans to phase in the extra amount on local tax bills gradually. The increases would start at $21 in 2027-28, $42 in 2028-29 and $63 in 2029-30.
The district will host a community forum on the project at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24 in the auditorium of West Genesee High School — located at 5201 W. Genesee St. in Camillus.
The community vote will be Dec. 9 in the West Genesee High School auditorium from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The district began considering the improvements after conducting infrastructure reviews in 2020 and 2022. The first review identified problems with the existing transportation center and parking lot traffic flow.
In 2022, the district’s mandated Building Condition Survey rated the transportation building unsatisfactory, meaning its systems were unreliable or beyond their useful life. Inspectors noted damage to the building’s façade and sidewalk, outdated energy systems and a broken bus wash system that forced staff to clean the vehicles by hand.
The proposed transportation facility would account for more than two-thirds of the total renovation costs. Plans call for a two-story building with 112 school bus spaces, eight bus maintenance bays, a drive-through bus wash and a training center, among other features.
At the high school, the district plans to almost double the number of spots available in its staff and student parking lots, from 271 to around 540 spaces. The project would also expand the current bus loop, add a drop-off loop for parents and build the new road. It would add a new storage room for marching band equipment.
The intermediate school would get a new health office with space for its school patrol officer and a psychologist, as well as a new playground. The money would also support renovations to the main office and the physical and occupational therapy classrooms.
The elementary school wouldn’t get any new structures under this project, though the district plans to renovate its basement — which houses the school’s information technology room.
If approved in December, the district hopes to begin construction on the transportation center, intermediate school and elementary school in the spring of 2027. The second phase of construction would begin in spring of 2029 — including the demolition of the former transportation center and work on the high school. The project doesn’t have an estimated completion date.
Eligible voters — adult U.S. citizens who have lived in the district for at least a month — can also pick up absentee and early voting ballots at the district clerk’s office. More information about the vote can be found on the district’s website.
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