School Improvement Project

Our Project Overview

Little Falls School Improvement Project
$5.6 MILLION LESS than previous proposal

School No. 1
Originally built in 1950

  • Cafeteria expansion
  • Addition of assembly area/performing arts classrooms
  • All-purpose room will have stage removed and be converted into full-size gym with bleachers
  • Space for a secure police substation
  • Paving of blacktop area

School No. 2
Originally built in 1922

  • 8 preschool classrooms
  • New library/media center
  • New kitchen & cafeteria
  • Interior renovations & finishes
  • Provides space for music and art instruction which currently do not have rooms

District-wide

  • New class and hallway floors/Removal of asbestos tiles
  • Replacement of aging interior doors with doors that provide enhanced security
  • Heating & ventilation improvements
  • The School No. 1 addition allows the district to reconfigure and maximize space across all schools. This frees up five instructional areas at School No. 1, one at School No. 2, and one in School No. 3.

Financial information

If the referendum is approved, the average home in the district (assessment of $314,000) will see an increase of about $26 per month.

The state will pay for approximately 12.7% of the cost of the project.

Vote December 13th from 3-8pm at your local polling place

In order to see your personal tax impact:

First, check your home's assessed value.

Township of Little Falls Property Tax Portal

Second, enter your assessed value into the calculator.

Project Highlights

Security upgrades
A library for School No. 2 (it doesn’t have one now)
Opportunity to offer free universal Pre-K
More space for music and performing arts
Heating and ventilation work
More athletic opportunities
Abatement and replacement of asbestos tiles
Replacement of old floors district wide
Expanded cafeteria at School No. 1
Community Driven

Superintendent Tracey Marinelli, along with the Little Falls Board of Education, would like to invite you to be an integral part of the Community Referendum Committee. If you are interested in serving in this role, please email Andrea Marchesani at amarchesani@lfschools.org no later than Friday, June 24, 2022. If you are unable to serve in this capacity, there will be other community forums for you to join throughout the process.

Examining the need

PROBLEM SOLUTION

No space for universal Pre-K at School No. 2 – preschool parents pay out of pocket now and seats are limited.

Classroom addition which will allow the district to apply for state funding to offer free Pre-K to all 3 and 4 year olds.

No rooms are available at School No. 2 for instruction in music and art – teachers travel from class to class with carts. School No. 2 does not have a library.

The School No. 2 expansion will free up space to provide rooms for music and art instruction, and give the school a dedicated library.

School No. 1 does not have space for an entire grade level to eat at once; students are forced to eat in 20 minute intervals.

The cafeteria will be expanded.

School No. 1 does not have room for special programs or large group instruction.

An assembly space will be added, providing room for the entire School No. 1 student population to gather for special events. The area also provides extra room for the school’s rapidly growing music program.

Old floors are cracking and buckling in all schools and some are comprised of vinyl asbestos tiles.

New flooring and asbestos abatement will be completed throughout district.

Old doors, most original, in all schools. Some date back to the original construction of the buildings.

Interior doors will be replaced with doors that provide better security with intruder-resistant locking mechanisms.

Looking Inside

Vinyl asbestos tiles, above, need to be abated and replaced

Old doors, many original to the buildings, would be replaced with sturdier, more secure doors to better resist intruders

Flooring has come to the end of its useful lifespan and would be replaced if the referendum is approved

At School No. 2, there are no classrooms available for art or music; teachers travel from room to room with carts of supplies

At School No. 2, occupational therapy for students with special needs is conducted in a hallway

School No. 1 does not have enough cafeteria space for an entire grade level to eat simultaneously; students are forced to eat in 20 minute intervals. If the referendum is approved, the cafeteria will be expanded.