The Friends of the Otisville School (FOTOS) was formed in 2016 by a group of community-minded volunteers with a focus on saving the “Old Otisville School” and renovating it into a community center to provide arts, education, recreation, and human services to local residents and the entire Hudson Valley region.
The Old Otisville School was built in 1914 and expanded in 1933, and generations of local residents attended it until it closed in 2008, when a new elementary school was built across town. FOTOS board members have been working steadily since 2017 to raise money and renovate the building floor by floor. As of 2024, they have received $1,000,000 in public and private grants to support their mission.