Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media voters in the Coxsackie-Athens school district will be asked to approve a proposed energy performance project next week. That proposal includes an update of the district’s infrastructure, including steam-to-hot-water conversion, a condensing boiler plant, upgrades to the lighting, ventilation, and electrical systems and more. Also, both elementary schools would receive improvements to lighting, building insulation, the computer network and control system. By choosing to pursue an energy-performance project instead of a traditional capital project, the district will still be left with money in the bank, Coxsackie-Athens Superintendent Randall Squier said. The district would end up with a net balance of $1.6 million following its 18-year contract with Ecosystem Energy Services, and an additional $317,000 could be provided if the project receives voters’ approval. The additional funds would go toward programming and classroom materials, Squier said. The cost of the project is $2.7 million. With the application of state funding, the proposal is not projected to increase property taxes. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com