News we need: Expansion Brings Jobs and Saves NY Money

The Daily Star reported on the recent groundbreaking ceremony at Springbrook:
Construction on a $22.5 million expansion at Springbrook is slated to begin next month.

The initiative will change the face of the 77-acre campus off state Route 28 and is expected to create 112 jobs ranging from maintenance positions to teachers, according to the plans.

"This whole campus is going to be affected in one way or another," Springbrook Facilities Director Tom Ford said.

His comment came before a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon in a field that attracted more than 150 guests and 200 staff and students at the home and school for the developmentally disabled.

The school at Springbrook currently serves 76 children and will be renamed the Tom Golisano School at Springbrook in honor of the philanthropist who pledged $2.5 million for the project.

The expansion will include an autism school for 36 students, including 24 new children from New York state who are either in out-of-state facilities or at risk of leaving the state. New buildings or additions include three duplex-style homes, classrooms, a gymnasium, a kitchen and a cafeteria. Renovations will be done on much of the existing school. Bus stop, parking, driveway and sewer and water improvements are also included in the project, according to the plans. Read more here.

The expansion will also bring an economic impact of $5 million annually to the area, and save the state $900,000 annually by keeping students in NYS.