Facilities

Located in Albany County, NY, the North Colonie Central School District is proud to provide state-of-the-art facilities and buildings that foster a safe, inclusive and conducive environment for teaching and learning. Our commitment to excellence in education extends beyond the classroom, as we strive to maintain and enhance our facilities to support the evolving needs of our students, staff, and community.

Facilities Use Information | Idling School Buses on School Grounds Policy | Integrated Pest Management Information | Lead Testing Results | Pesticide and Asbestos Notifications

Facilities Use Information

The North Colonie Central School District buildings and grounds are maintained primarily for the purpose of educating students within the district. However, the District recognizes that the buildings and grounds are a valuable community resource and believes they should be available to the community for specific uses that will not interfere with educational activities.

View North Colonie CSD Policies on Facilities Use:

1500, Use of School Facilities, 1/23/12
1500-R, Use of School Facilities Regulations, 1/23/12
1500-E-2, Schedule of Charges for Use of School Facilities, 1/23/12

If you would like to request use of school property or facilities, please utilize the Revocable License Form for Use of School Facilities and contact the Business Office with any questions.

Idling School Buses on School Grounds Policy

State law requires school districts to take steps to minimize the idling of the engines of school buses and other school vehicles on school grounds. While students are boarding and departing school buses, the engine should be turned off. Students should be instructed about the importance of getting on and off buses in an orderly and efficient fashion to minimize loading and offloading time. Bus engines should also be off while parked at sporting events and other school activities. Exceptions to this “no idling” policy can be made in cases of emergency, mechanical issues or for necessary heating.

View the district’s idling school bus policy.

Lead Testing Results

Since September 2016, the district has been continually receiving results of water quality testing that was performed in all North Colonie schools in accordance with legislation signed by Governor Cuomo on Sept. 6. The new law requires all New York State public schools to test all sources of potable water for lead contamination. The State Department of Health and State Education Department have established an action level threshold of 15 parts per billion. Water sources that test higher must be immediately taken out of service and corrective action must be taken.

It is important to note that the North Colonie Central School District has followed its own water testing protocols initiated a decade ago, long before the state enacted legislation, to ensure the quality of drinking water in our schools. Since then, district staff has conducted random sampling of drinking water sources at all sites in the district and those samples have been tested at Bender Labs, a state-certified testing laboratory in Albany. During the last 10 years, the results have consistently shown that drinking water sources at each of our schools have tested below the actionable level set by the state.

The following list of protocols have been put into place if a water source came back above 15 parts per billion.

Shut off water to any affected sources until a second round of testing can be conducted
If results continue to show actionable levels of lead, the district will work to replace or remediate the affected water pipes and fixtures
Conduct additional water tests to determine if the replacement/remediation was successful before placing the faucets back in service.

Please be assured that we will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure the quality of drinking water throughout our district meets the state regulations. We will keep you informed as we continue to receive the results of the ongoing water testing at our schools.

Regulations for New Water Testing Law (via NYS Department of Health)
Information for Child Care Providers and Schools (via NYS Department of Health)
Basic Information About Lead in Drinking Water (via U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

Please call the district at (518) 785-8591 if you have any questions.

Pesticide and Asbestos Notifications

The use of pesticide products may be applied periodically throughout the school year at the North Colonie Central School District. Under the Pesticide Neighbor Notification Law, Section 409-h of the Education Law, the District is required to maintain a list of parents/guardians and school staff (who wish to receive 48 hour advanced written notice) of an actual pesticide application in the facilities or on school grounds.

To register for the 48 hour notification, please fill out this form before the start of each school year. To obtain additional information on the Pesticide Neighbor Notification Law contact Mark Wiegert, Director of Custodial Services at (518) 273-4844.

In accordance with the requirements of the federal regulation known as AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act), the school district has conducted inspections and developed management plans for each of the district’s schools. These management plans are available for your review during regular business hours at the individual schools. Included in these management plans is information regarding AHERA inspections, operations and maintenance, period surveillance and response action activities. It is the intention of the North Colonie Central School District to comply with all federal and state regulations controlling asbestos and to take the appropriate steps necessary to ensure students and employees have a healthy and safe environment in which to learn and work.

View the district’s policy on Pesticide/Herbicide Applications to School Fields and Playgrounds or contact the Maintenance Department at (518) 785-5771 for more information.

Integrated Pest Management Information

Adopted: July 7, 2011

The intent of the new law is to require schools and day care centers to manage grounds and pests without pesticides. Emergency determinations should only be sought or granted for a one-time pesticide application for a specific situation, which presents a true emergency. To provide guidance on deciding when a situation is not an emergency, the DEC, State DOH and SED, in consultation with OCFS, identified the following situations that these state agencies generally would not consider to warrant an emergency pesticide application determination:

when the problem can be managed with the allowed products and/or alternative pest management methods (even when it takes time to learn and fully practice pesticide alternatives).
for routine or repetitive pest problems. Pest problems can occur on a regular or seasonal basis, but they do not usually rise to the level of a public health or environmental threat that constitutes an emergency.
when the pesticide application would be for purely aesthetic (non-emergency) reasons.

Consulting Agency Recourses Regarding Public Health-Related Emergency Situations: