January 18, 2024 by Alex Wersten (‘25)
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of residents in the Saratoga Springs City School District voted to approve the Legacy Project, a $129.7 million capital project aimed to create major improvements and renovations in all eight school buildings and the transportation facility, with a result of 1,530 votes to 364 votes.
According to our district’s website, “The Legacy Project aligns with the Pathways Vision and prioritizes safety and security, educational program enhancements, and building improvements. In addition, the project will create energy and operational efficiencies throughout the District as well as protect the community’s long-term investment in our school facilities.”
To gain a new perspective on this project and its many advantages for our schools and community, I sat down with Saratoga’s own Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Patton, on December 4th for a raw and unfiltered conversation on the topics at hand.
One of the first things I wanted to uncover was the inspiration for the project itself. Perhaps it was another school district’s updates and renovations, or if it was just a personal goal for change. Believe it or not, the inspirations for this project were initially rooted in 2018, when a Legacy Reference Advisory Committee was developed.
Dr. Patton said, “There were about sixty members of the community who came together. We met for about a year and a half. And so, the project started with our Great Outdoors Project. That was May of 2018, when we presented that to the community for vote. That was a $15 million project.”
Dr. Patton recalled now-answered questions such as, “What do we do to enhance the outside of our buildings?” and, “What do students and staff want to see occur based on the condition of the buildings now?” He also made it known that returning alumni from past graduating years should be proud of their schools and how far they’ve come over time, whether that is through the courses offered, the staff and faculty, or the building renovations.
I also wanted to know what the main vision, or main goal, of the project is, especially from a Superintendent’s point of view. The first thing Dr. Patton mentioned is, “Always keeping students and student learning in our [focus],” while continuing to demonstrate examples of this through the many areas of studies students can shape their futures with.
Notable subjects listed include the arts, Career and Technical Education through Capital Region BOCES, New Visions, the Saratoga Pathways Academy and many others. Dr. Patton reiterated his and students’ pride in student services, athletics, clubs and activities.
“The community invests tremendously in making the resources available to us, you know, so that helps us drive programming, you know, course opportunities, as well as student services,” Dr. Patton said. From the view of a student, being told this by the Superintendent of Schools is awe-inspiring, and it really demonstrates how students are the central focus of the district.
The last thing I had to know was how the Legacy Project would affect the synergy and overall environment of the Saratoga Springs City School District. In response to this question, Dr. Patton said, “Yeah, it’s going to allow us to remain competitive, you know. We want to make sure our kids, when they’re graduating from Saratoga Springs, have had the opportunities, whether it’s heading off to college, whether it’s entering directly into the workforce and thinking about going into the military, that we want to make sure that all kids are given the opportunities. And we provide them with the venue to explore as many different opportunities as possible, you know. And again that’s a wide range of things: that’s the academic opportunities – those are those extracurricular type of activities, where kids feel connected and engaged in school and again, the learning environment plays such an important role in that we want it to feel safe for everybody, you know, so there are safety factors that go into a capital project and we want it to be welcoming, you know, so when people walk into a building it’s like ‘wow this is a pretty neat place.’”
This statement speaks for itself, as officials across the district look forward to making school engaging and personalized for all. Our district website also clearly shows this as well, as their 2024 priorities are as follows: equity of opportunity, collaboration, community, and personalization.