by Thaddeus Flint
Even as the Berlin School Board failed, once again, to get a needed two-thirds super-majority vote that would allow the District to largely renovate the Berlin Elementary School, Phase 1 of a scaled down project is proceeding apace. Two contracts, one for window replacement and one for lead and asbestos abatement, were awarded at Tuesday’s monthly meeting with only Board Members John Nash and Alan Webster Jr. voting against the project. Nash and Webster Jr. also voted against the Bond Authorization that would have financed the full plan. Board Member Bev Stewart was absent.
[private]According to Douglas Dickinson of CS Arch, the company managing the renovations, the contracts went out to bid on January 28. Six bids were received and the winner was Bunkoff General Contractors of Latham with a bid of $967,000. Bunkoff has worked on many school projects in the area. They will also be replacing windows at the historic Albany City Hall. One of the stipulations CS Arch had made was that the windows in the elementary school match as much as possible those of the original WPA design. At the moment the elementary school project looks like it will be over budget by around $43,000, however Dickinson said that this would be made up in Phase 2 of the project as some construction which would be done to a crawl space in that building would save around $80,000 later.
New Heating Needed
The boilers in the elementary school probably will not be able to hold out for later project phases. Buildings and Grounds Superintendent Cyril Grant regularly updates the Board on new cracks that have formed in the aging heating units. However, before spending on a new boiler the Board tasked Grant with researching other, possibly more environmentally sustainable, options.
Grant consulted with CS Arch, and they recommended Cliff Stevens of Lewis Engineering. According to Lewis, moving to other options is possible, but it could be very expensive. Cogeneration involves using engines to create electricity. The heat of the engines becomes your heating source. This works well with natural gas, which would be a problem in that there is no natural gas supply in the area yet. It works well if you need air conditioning and have a pool because in the summer there is a lot of left over electricity and heat. A cogeneration plant for a building the size of Berlin Elementary would require around 8 to 10 engines which would require a large amount of land which that property does not really have to spare.
Biomass boilers are another option. They burn wood chips or pellets. Around 160 tons of such fuel would be needed to heat the elementary school and this would require someplace to store them. For a pellet burner, Lewis said a silo would need to be built. It would probably be rather unsightly, although it would be matched by a rather unsightly smokestack. Also, the building would still need a backup boiler inside it, because State Education says so, and so it would take quite a few years to recoup any savings.
As for a geothermal system, the costs for one old building would be “over a million dollars,” said Lewis, so it’s not really an option at all. Lewis recommended the District replace the broken boilers and have the maze of pipes down there re-worked into something a bit more modern, pretty much what Grant has been advising all along. The Board will look into how to pay for that.
Budget Season – William Burke Leaving
At the moment the Board is starting to look into how to pay for everything. Budget season is once again arriving in Berlin, as it does every year along with the mud. What will make this season a bit more strenuous is that the District’s Business Manager, William Burke, is leaving to go to the Rensselaer School District at the end of March. Burke is responsible for making sure all the numbers work and figuring out how everything is going to be paid for so it’s rather important that the budget be more or less completed before he leaves. Replacing Burke will be no easy job – he’s also the District’s Transportation Manager – and District Superintendent Dr. Stephen Young didn’t sound enthusiastic when he outlined his search so far.
Burke has crunched the numbers to figure out what percentage the State’s 2% tax cap actually equals for the Berlin Central; School District. The rate can be different in every district and rarely will it actually be 2%. Berlin’s 2% is actually 3.93%. That’s how much taxes could go up if the Board adopts the current budget and 50% of voters approve their adoption. That probably won’t happen though. The current Board is pretty thrifty when it comes to spending residents’ money. However, right now, according to Burke, with no changes to the program, the budget would increase by around $300,000 which would bring about a tax levy of 3.55%.
The three largest instigators of that hike would be increases in salaries (2.06%), health insurance (6.01%) and retirement for teachers (44.34%) and employees (31.13%). The increase in retirement is a staggering $347,000. Governor Cuomo is proposing a State aid increase of 4.4%, however 76% of this will be going to high needs districts, which Berlin is not. Burke is expecting about .79% more from Cuomo’s generosity.
Safety Plan Considered
Add to the budget another half million dollars. That would be the price tag of a comprehensive safety plan put together in the wake of the New Town shooting. The Board had asked Young to gather some findings right after that massacre, which he did, meeting with teachers, administration, law enforcement and first responders. One thing law enforcement told him was that bullet proofing the buildings is not a solution. “There is no 100% way,” said Young. “If somebody wants to come through, they are coming through.”
What the District can do though is take real steps to prevent such a disaster by being pro-active, listening and engaging not only with the students but the entire community. Young proposed a community help line, a mentoring project, after-school programs and more mental health resources at younger levels. The estimated cost is $230,000.
To better protect the buildings, locks, an intercom, a door buzzer and an enclosed walkway to outside classes would be needed in the elementary school. The Middle/High School could use cameras, buzzers, a silent alarm and possibly even moving the main entrance and the offices from the south entry to the north entry. The estimated cost is $276,000.
“It would be substantial,” said Young.
Webster pointed out that the “financial scenario in this District is delicate.” The District simply doesn’t have that kind of money, yet it should “address the imperative needs within our budget.”
Board Member Frank Zwack wanted to see more options. Enclosing the walkway at the elementary school is estimated at $87,000. “You’re spending more on the walkway than the building is worth,” he said.
Nash agreed. “We don’t have $500,000 to do it,” he said, “we should be constantly triaging these options,” doing the most important tasks with the money the District has.
Board President Jim Willis agreed, “This should be an ongoing process.” The matter will be added to future agendas.
A policy on uses of electronic devices will also be brought back on a later agenda. Board members were not satisfied with the way the draft policy currently reads. Board Member Katie Fiske feels that cell phones are not needed. “They are a disturbance,” she said, “not a necessity.” Willis believes there could be uses for some electronic devices. “We can’t be closed minded,” he said, “there must be a balancing point.” Nash was the strongest against, even advocating applying the same policies to the staff so they could “set an example.” He wanted a much tighter policy. Board Member Gina Goodermote agreed. “Give them [the students] an inch,” she said, “and they will take a mile.”
SES Time Capsule
Back before cell phones and computers, some students at the now abandoned Stephentown Elementary School buried a time capsule. It was supposed to be opened in 2034. As the school is currently for sale, the Stephentown Historical Society has offered to safely store the capsule for the next 21 years. There is thought to be a second capsule behind the school’s cornerstone as well, though this may have been opened on the 50th anniversary of the facility on December 16, 1998. The Board voted unanimously that the capsules and two signs from the building be entrusted to the care of the Historical Society. “It’s appropriate,” said Willis.[/private]