By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – A Buffalo company has been chosen to head up a major overhaul of the city's school buildings. Ciminelli Construction was selected from among four finalists by the Joint School Construction Board to serve as program manager for the nearly one billion dollar project.
The overhaul is moving ahead despite the school district's financial problems. Ciminelli President and CEO John Giardino said he's sensitive to the district's challenges.
"There's no question there's a correlation between student achievement and the quality of the environment in which learning takes place," he said. "We're trying to bring our resources to the table to make sure these are great environments for children where they can achieve the highest standards in education."
Plans call for the renovations of 60 Buffalo schools and the construction of as many as six new ones over the next ten years. Ciminelli will work with partner Solomon Smith Barney to arrange for the project's financing. It will also oversee planning as well as the actual construction.