by Alex Brooks
A Community Meeting was held on May 4 by the New Lebanon Central School District to talk about the School Renovation project which will be on the ballot May 16. [private]The meeting was hosted by Schools Superintendent Leslie Whitcomb, Business Manager Michael Los, and School Board Member Michael Brutsch.
Five citizens came to the meeting, along with this reporter. Detailed listings of all the items included in the renovation project were handed out to all in attendance.
The first question raised was whether it might make sense, in view of declining enrollment in the New Lebanon School District, to consolidate the District’s facilities in one building, rather than continuing to renovate and maintain the two buildings. Whitcomb said “We are using every classroom we have.” She does not feel the District currently has more space than it needs. She also said the District cannot add on to the High School because of State Education Department regulations concerning the footprint of the building in relation to the size of the lot.
Business Manager Michael Los said if the District were to consolidate all of its operations on one site, the building at the consolidated site would have to be significantly enlarged, and it would cost a lot of money to do that. He said renovating the existing buildings is a far less expensive alternative.
Los said the need for this renovation project was determined by careful review of the Building condition survey which NYS Education Department requires all school districts to undertake every five years. There are a number of items needed to bring the buildings up to current code, as well as renovate the bathrooms and kitchens and a number of other items. Detailed lists of the items included in the project are in the newsletter sent out to residents about the project and are on the District’s web site as well.
Superintendent Whitcomb said she believes deferring maintenance is a bad idea and will end up costing the taxpayers more in the long run. She believes taking care of repairs and renovations when the need is identified by the building condition survey is the best practice.
Business Manager Michael Los explained that this project can be accomplished without raising the tax levy. The District has about $3 million saved up towards this project, and some parts of the project may be eligible for $288,000 in Smart Schools grant funding. The remainder of the project will be bonded over 15 years. New York State will reimburse the District for 45% of the cost of the project. Los said because some previous capital projects will be paid off in the next few years, the payments on this project will replace payments the District has been making on previous projects, and the District’s debt service payments will end up being the same as or less than what they are paying now.
Several of those present questioned whether the estimates provided by the architects of items included were a bit high. For instance, renovation of the home and careers classroom at the High school is budgeted for $300,000, and one resident present at the meeting wondered why it would cost that much to renovate one classroom. Los conceded that it may turn out that the room can be renovated for less. He said it would not be smart for the District to spend a lot of money designing in detail what is to be done in that room before the project has been approved.
Another resident said if the estimates are high, and the proposition gets passed, all of the money approved is going to get spent. Whitcomb, Los, and Brutsch all immediately said “No, it’s not.”
Brutsch said he thought some of the estimates are high, but if the project can be done under budget, the District does not have to spend the entire amount approved by the voters.
Brutsch said soon after he built his house in New Lebanon, there were some hefty spikes in the school tax levy because repairs had to be done on an emergency basis. But he said Superintendent Whitcomb and Business manager Los “have been very responsible taking care of business issues.” He said, “The best thing we can do is maintain the facilities that we have, and keep costs level.”
Los noted that the District has not increased the tax levy for six years, and this year is reducing the tax levy by over $100,000, and he hopes to maintain a similar record going forward.
The Renovation Project will be presented to the voters in two propositions. The first, which includes everything except the gym expansion at Walter B Howard Elementary, is for $8,755,000. The Gym expansion is a separate proposition, for $3,100,000. If the main renovation project passes but not the gym proposition, they will do only that work, but if the main renovation project does not pass, and the gym proposition does pass, they will not do any of the work, and will, in Los’ words, “go back to the drawing board.”
The vote on the School District’s Budget, the two renovation project propositions, and school Board candidates will take place on Tuesday May 16 from noon to 9 pm in the Walter B Howard Elementary School gym. [/private]