BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

CANTON – Canton Central School is planning its next capital project that would address parking issues, upgrade an outdated kitchen and cafeteria, as well as update its main original offices.

The district has hired King+King Architects to begin planning the district’s anticipated capital project.

CCS Superintendent Ronald P. Burke said he expects to present taxpayers with details of exactly what work will be done some time this fall.

Burke said the majority of the work will be “nuts and bolts … nothing flashy.”

The scope of the work will depend on finances.

An area Burke would like to see addressed includes changes to the parking lot, which would help to create safer pickup and drop-off of students.

In 2017 the school tried to acquire two houses near the school, which would have been demolished to create around 60 new parking spaces. Voters turned it down. At that time, school officials said, “the daily scene at Banford Elementary School: Fire lanes blocked, vehicles double and triple parked, children interspersed -- accidents literally waiting to happen.”

Any work done would be aimed at creating more parking spaces and improving traffic flow.

Upgrades to the kitchen and cafeterias would see new plumbing and appliances among other work done.

Burke said their dishwasher is over 30 years old and finding parts is becoming troublesome.

Work on offices would see security upgrades to better protect students and staff. Work on the offices would allow the school to better control where guests are going, he said.

The offices have not been improved upon in over 50 years, possibly since they were first built, Burke said.

Burke said the school may also look to create more space for its agriculture program which lost some of its work area when baseball fields were constructed last year.

He said space for the ag program is undersized and their equipment is outdated. Burke would like to see both of those issues addressed.

He said the program is popular and that students learn about an array of topics from crops to veterinary education.