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     Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 31085 Registered: 01-2000  Rating: N/A |
Scaled-down BOCES plan wins OK from 3 holdout districts Written by Alex Weisler / White Plains (NY) Journal News Nov 28, 2012 YORKTOWN — A $16.9 million Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES capital improvement project will move forward after three holdout school districts — Chappaqua, Brewster and Mahopac — voted to approve the plan. The proposal will install new roofs on eight buildings, upgrade heating and ventilation systems and replace an existing therapy pool with two smaller pools, among other repairs at the organization’s campus off Pinesbridge Road. The plan was scaled down from an earlier $19 million incarnation that proposed larger repairs to the therapy pool. * * * The average cost to each of BOCES’ 18-member districts is about $1 million, though an individual district’s contribution is calculated by a formula that takes district enrollment and property values into account.  You don't get to vote on capital expenditures for BOCES. Your school board votes, but you pay the bill. * * * * 
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 30928 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Shen voters approve project Plan calls for $10.1M in upgrades to facilities, including Wi-Fi system Albany (NY) Times Union Staff report October 25, 2012 CLIFTON PARK — Shenendehowa school district voters approved a $10.1 million plan for facility upgrades on Wednesday. The proposition was approved 1,168 to 682. The most expensive project — at $2.2 million — involves reconfiguring High School East's current wrestling and weight room area into physical fitness spaces. Other work is to remove exterior asbestos wall cladding in High School East for $915,000. Construction would be completed by next September. The district also will spend $1.85 million for Wi-Fi at each school building and outdoor sports field on its Route 146 campus. The district would pay for the projects with $5.1 million raised through refinancing existing debt, more than $2.3 million from its capital reserve fund and $1.77 million in state aid. Local taxpayers will pay $842,231 over 15 years. That would cost the owner of a property assessed at $250,000 a total of $1.49 a year, district officials say.
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 30775 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Down to the wire for school board by Timothy Chipp / Niagara (NY) Gazette Sept. 20, 2012 Niagara Gazette — Cynthia Bianco and the rest of the Niagara Falls School District are bracing for the conclusion to an exciting week. Tuesday is the district-wide vote on a proposed $67 million capital improvement project, a topic the entire school board and Bianco's administration has spent weeks preparing potential voters for. Members of the board have spoken to parent groups, presented at building open houses and discussed the projects with area block clubs. Of course Bianco's hoping for approval, but she said there should be no reason to vote in the negative. After all, the project won't cost taxpayers in the financially strapped district a penny in additional taxes. "This whole project is 100 percent reimbursable," she said. "Last year, despite it being tough economic times, the state approved $389 million in projects. As taxpayers, we here in Niagara Falls are helping to pay for that. Why shouldn't we be taking advantage of this as well." Let's everyone spend "free" money and see what happens. * * * *
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 30544 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Texas Town Spends $60 Million for New Football Stadium Julia Lawrence / Education News August 14th, 2012  The new Eagle Stadium will seat 18,000 spectators and cost a bit under $60 million dollars to construct. Its size is too modest to house a popular college football program, and maybe half the size of a stadium that would play host to an NFL franchise. But that’s fine, because the Eagle Stadium, located in a suburb north of Dallas, Texas, will be the setting for Friday night football games for Allen High School. There's not even a track around that field, for $60 million! Those outside of Texas might be shocked that any community would be willing to bear so high a cost for a high school athletics team, but in Texas, where high school football is hugely popular, the new Eagle Stadium is only the fifth-largest high school football facility ranked by size. As it is, the residents of Allen, Texas, seemed willing to pony up with the money for the stadium raised via a $119.4 million bond offering. When put to the voters, nearly 65% voted to approved it. The school district has 5,388 students. In my 2,700-student school district--capital region NY--residents refused to pay $1 million to AstroTurf the football field. * * * *
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 30256 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Carthage CSD capital project voted down By REENA SINGH / Watertown (NY) Daily Times staff writer JUNE 7, 2012  Everyone in NY owes the voters in Carthage a big THANK YOU! They weren't seduced by the promise of $36 million in goodies for a mere $16 bucks a year over 20 years. The building project scam works like this: You pay 5% to 15% of the cost for 100% of the benefits. This system entices voters to wildly overspend on building projects. So, what we end up paying taxes on is the building projects passed by OTHER school districts. In the end, we all pay much more than we would pay if we all just paid our own way for what we need. Voters felt their buildings were good enough, even if they feel like jails. We all need a dose of fiscal sense like Carthage voters overwhelmingly showed. Congratulations. CARTHAGE — Carthage Central School District residents came in droves to put their stamp of disapproval on the proposed $34.5 million capital construction project. The project was voted down 785-185 at the high school Thursday night. The project has been discussed by the Carthage Central School District Board of Education for more than a year to address concern over growing class sizes. “Taxpayers obviously have a burden,” said board President Michael P. Chevier. “It still does not negate the need to update the infrastructures and the classrooms.” The owner of a property assessed at $100,000 would have had to pay $16.12 annually over the course of 17 years starting in 2014, under the proposal. Mr. Chevier feels the extra taxes was why the voters disagreed with the project. “Village taxes go up, county taxes go up, and they have no recourse,” he said. “However, financially, interest rate-wise, it’s a good time to do it. Yes, the board understands tax fatigue, but I’d give up one or two trips to the local eatery for something like this.” He said he feels the average homeowner would be getting a good deal at that cost. About 94 percent of the project as proposed was eligible for state aid. The district has nearly $2 million in state aid from the Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning, or EXCEL, program. The project would have added classrooms to Carthage Elementary and a new science wing to the high school. The administration and alternative education program were going to move to the high school, doing away with the energy-inefficient Great Bend location. All other buildings were going to have maintenance issues addressed as listed in a building condition survey that has to be completed every year. Survey items, such as security issues, repairing sidewalks and adding an emergency electric generator, were projected to cost $11.3 million alone. Mr. Chevier said it will be the board’s decision what the next course of action will be. The vote will be discussed at Monday’s board meeting. However, one resident did not think the project should be talked about for a while. “You better not talk about the project for the next 45 days,” said former board member John E. Peck to Mr. Chevier. “I mean that. There’s nothing wrong with the Great Bend building.” Mr. Peck has spoken against the possible closure of the Great Bend building during past meetings, saying the design of the alternative education wing made it resemble a jail. He also said other former board members did not support the project. Another critic of the project was Wilfred J. Deion, a member of the facility committee. He was concerned the board was using fear tactics to try to pass the proposal. “Unless something broke, it wouldn’t fall upon the taxpayers. The public has a right to know that the BCS items aren’t mandated to be fixed,” he said at a past meeting, referring to the survey. However, Mr. Chevier did not feel it was wise to wait until maintenance items fell into such disrepair that they required a building emergency. The board provided exit surveys to the voters and will sort through them to find out why the project was voted down. “We’ll have to find the biggest concern against the project and go from there,” he said. On May 15, the district’s proposed budget passed by a mere seven votes. Another game played by school districts. They could have schedule the building project vote for the same day as the budget vote. But most school districts don't do it. Why. They want a low turnout to improve the odds of passing. It's not like budget votes aren't already low-turnout events, but educators will maximize inconvenience to the fullest extent possible if they think it will give them an advantage. How can neighbors treat neighbors like this?
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 29352 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
TOO BIG TO FIX Region's aging schools crumble as finances falter A White Plains (NY) Journal News Investigative Report Nov 2011 Thousands of Lower Hudson Valley children attend aging public schools with poor air quality, leaking roofs, crumbling walls, ancient boilers or insufficient fire safeguards. The revelations of these hazards come in school inspection reports obtained by The Journal News that show one in three buildings in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam's 54 school districts received unsatisfactory ratings this year. From the mid '90s through the mid 2000s, NY schools went through a building boom. Schools spent billions of dollars around the state. They installed swimming pools and artificial turf sports centers. SO NOW we're told that are schools are still crumbling! People need to be fired. * * * *
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 28329 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Sch’dy residents getting bad deal on school pool deal A Schenectady (NY) Gazette Letter to the Editor Sept. 13, 2011 When public schools want to build something, they need community support to pass the proposition. Invariably, they say the community will have the free use of the facilities when students aren't using them. "Of course! It's the community's money." But that promise quickly fades, as fees go up and up until no one in the community except faculty and staff, who have been given generous discounts, uses them. It's a scam from the beginning. NEVER BUY THE PROMISE OF FREE USE. Re Sept. 8 article, “High school pool to open to public”: As a lifetime runner and occasional lap swimmer, I am so disappointed and discouraged at the Schenectady school district’s policies regarding use of these facilities. Over the past year or so, the track has remained locked unless the school classes or sports teams or groups that are renting the facility are using it. Obviously, student teams and gym classes have priority over community use, but that still leaves many times when the track would be open for use by community members. In the many places where I have lived, I never lived in one before where the track was off limits to the community. When the Schenectady track used to be open to the community, it was rare that I would run on it and not see other community members running or walking on it. Had I known that having a new track facility would mean no access to community members, I would never have supported its creation. Then [the] Sept. 9 Gazette editorial [“Sour school pool deal”] revealed the district’s new plan regarding use of the pool facility. I understand why the pool was closed to the public after the budget was voted down and the district was forced to adopt a contingency budget. And, I fully support collaboration with other community organizations. However, I was shocked to read that residents who want to swim laps, but are not YMCA members, will now pay $25 per month to swim. It’s hardly a deal for a resident non-YMCA member to pay “slightly less than a full YMCA membership,” for some evening and morning lap swimming access. It’s a great deal for those who already are paying or want to pay for a full YMCA membership, but I’m not sure how residents who do just want some lap access at a reasonable price are being served. The pool and track were built with community approval with the guarantee that they would benefit the community, not just the Y or people who rent the track. The school district was losing money on the pool before they closed it to the public, but they were charging nothing to community members at the same time that surrounding districts were charging a more nominal fee. Now with this $25 per-month fee, which equals $300 a year for an individual, the Y will be charging residents twice as much as neighboring Niskayuna will charge for non-residents to swim in their pool! And, Niskayuna is charging $50 per year for their residents to swim. Mohonasen’s yearly fee is more than Niskayuna’s, at $125 per year, which works out to $10.40 per month; but that is still way less than Schenectady’s $25 per month. And, even their nonresident fee for the year, at $180, is still less than the $300 it would cost to swim at Schenectady for the year. I hope the school board will seriously look at ways to return access to the track and to make a more affordable option for resident swimmers. Laurie Hoyt Schenectady
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 28309 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Hard times threat to school projects Major summer jobs like Albany High School expected to give way to routine maintenance By TIM O'BRIEN / Albany (NY) Times Union Staff writer September 3, 2011 * * * Twenty percent of school districts in New York state report that they curtailed construction projects this year due to budget concerns, said Robert Lowry, deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents. That compares to 10 percent last year. "Over the past year or so, it has gotten more difficult to get voters to approve capital projects," he said. The tax cap takes effect next year. "I expect it will result in districts being more cautious about taking on some capital projects," Lowry said. While school renovations are often approved by voters as a separate item from the budget, he said, districts need to be able to repay the debt over time. With a tax cap in place, Lowry said, school leaders will have to worry whether the annual debt payments are affordable. * * * *
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 26285 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Voters approve Ballston Spa school projects By DENNIS YUSKO / Albany (NY) Times Union Staff Writer October 19, 2010 BALLSTON SPA -- Voters in the Ballston Spa School District narrowly approved a $49.3 million bond vote Tuesday that will pay for the first phase of the Board of Education's facilities master plan. Unofficial results put the result of the referendum at 1,272 "yes" votes to 1,159 "no" votes, school officials said. A new school would be built at the Wood Road complex to replace Milton Terrace South, and repairs would be made to the Malta Avenue and Milton Terrace North elementary schools as well as the middle school. The board is in the process of paying off old debts, so the projected net tax impact on a home assessed at $220,000 will be an estimated $1.60 per year, starting in 2015, according to the district. Thank you Ballston Spa. Another school district votes to raise my taxes. Local taxpayers pay very little of the construction bill. Typically 80% or more is paid by the state. School districts get to tell voters that for $1.60 increase over 20 years we get $48 million of goodies. Who can pass that up? What happens in a system like this is you get way more construction than school districts need. Also, school districts routinely mislead voters as to the true local cost. The money being spent to retire the debt should go back to the taxpayers when the schools no longer need it. The new building project's taxes should be stated independently of any retiring debt. But that's not the way the unethical professionals of public schools do it. They believe that once you vote to give money to public schools, it's theirs to keep. What school districts should tell voters is, "If you approve this project, we'll continue to collect the money you gave us X years ago, even though you would have gotten that money back when we retire the debt, plus we want an additional $1.60 a year. That's the honest way to explain tax impact to voters.
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 26280 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Conservatives' suit alleges Strickland favored unions Contracts to build schools at heart of corruption claim By Darrel Rowland / Columbus (OH) Dispatch October 15, 2010 New Yorkers: Sit down in your chair with both feet firmly on the floor before you read the next sentence. A conservative group sued Gov. Ted Strickland, his chief of staff, the Ohio School Facilities Commission and others yesterday, alleging that they engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity by favoring unions in school-construction contracts. I warned you. What counts as corruption in Ohio is routine practice in NY. Does that give you a clue? * * * "School districts are making construction decisions within this troublesome framework. This suit aims to clean up the process before additional tax dollars are wasted." There is a rabbit hole, and we're in it, Alice. You know what I can't wait to read? A story about 21st Century Schools and how the Dept of Education and school boards are guilty of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity by favoring teachers unions in education jobs instead of providing students with the online instruction and materials that they need. When I read that story, then I'll know our children are getting the education they deserve. * * * *
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 26004 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
What’s more important: School buildings or the teachers who fill them? L.A. unveils new $578M school, costliest in the nation, as 3,000 city teachers have lost their jobs From staff and wire reports / eSchool News Aug 23rd, 2010 See, also, LA unveils $578M school, costliest in the nation and What does the Country's Most Expensive School Look Like?. A new public school building in Los Angeles that cost more than $500 million to build–at a time when the city has laid off more than 3,000 teachers and cut several academic programs–has raised eyebrows across the country, adding fuel to a national debate about how important one’s environment is to learning and how best to spend limited educational resources. Next month’s opening of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will be auspicious for a reason other than its both storied and infamous history as the former Ambassador Hotel, where the Democratic presidential contender was assassinated in 1968. With an eye-popping price tag of $578 million, it will mark the inauguration of the nation’s most expensive public school ever. The K-12 complex to house 4,200 students has drawn national attention as the creme de la creme of “Taj Mahal” schools, $100 million-plus campuses boasting both architectural panache and deluxe amenities. * * * *
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 24401 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Berlin voters reject $19.7M school renovation plan By BOB GARDINIER, Albany (NY) Times Union Staff writer December 9, 2009 BERLIN -- A plan to spend $19.705 million to renovate and expand the 73-year-old Berlin Elementary School and repair the middle/high school was handily defeated by voters Tuesday night 820 to 204. The project would have added six classrooms to Berlin Elementary School and renovated and updated the entire structure. But opponents called the plan too expensive and unnecessary. * * * The project had required nearly $18 million to be bonded over 16 years, with state aid covering nearly $12 million. The local yearly cost to the taxpayer was estimated to be $90 under the Senior Star program, $131 for Basic Star and $173 for no Star. Assuming STAR will survive at current levels. * * * * BH-BL Referendum Results BH-BL Home Page 12.9.09 Energy proposition passes, safety & technology defeated Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake residents approved only one of three propositions at the district's Renovations Referendum on December 9. Results were as follows: 1. Energy Bond Issue Proposition of $12,538,550: 613 votes for 450 votes against, a passing margin of 58% 2. Student Safety Bond Issue Proposition of $3,973,000: 526 votes for 537 votes against 3. Technology Bond Issue Proposition of $3,102,000: 504 votes for 558 votes against A total of 1,064 residents voted, including 41 who voted by absentee ballot. This is higher than the 914 who voted in the previous EXCEL referendum in March 2007, and a reasonable turnout considering the significant snow storm that the Capital Region endured during the morning of the vote. Superintendent Jim Schultz thanked the residents who took the time to come out and vote despite the bad weather. "I'm heartened that in this tough fiscal environment our citizens are willing to support the critical infrastructure and energy conservation projects in proposition 1," he said. The biggest projects in the approved proposition include $4.1 million for roofing work, $3.9 million for new boilers and heating system at the Stevens Elementary School, $1.7 million to replace single-pane windows at three schools, and new heating control systems at three schools. Schultz expressed his disappointment at the defeat of propositions 2 and 3. "We will continue to ensure student safety and address students' technology needs with current resources as best we can," he said.
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 24053 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
New credit rating to save district $300K By Kathy Bowen / Schenectady (NY) Daily Gazette Reporter September 30, 2009 STILLWATER — The Stillwater Central School District is expecting to save more than $300,000 in interest on bonds for school improvements after receiving an upgraded credit rating. * * * * If you're looking to control your district's costs, knowing its bond rating is a good idea. Ask your district's business administrator what needs to be done to get the highest bond rating.
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 23775 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
Artificial turf at SHS field a big waste of tax money A Schenectady (NY) Daily Gazette Letter to the Editor July 29, 2009 Several years ago I wrote a letter to the editor regarding my feelings about the construction of a swimming pool at Schenectady High School and the installation of lights on the athletic field. How much, I wonder, did we gain from that investment? My taxes just went up $480 this year, but the return on the overall cost [was] not much as I see it. What has the installation of that pool returned to the taxpayers? How many people use that pool and how often? Does the athletic field even get used at twilight enough so that we can see a return to the community of their total investment? While I am speaking only for myself, as a taxpayer I get tired of being bled dry for somebody else’s pipe dream! Now from what I understand, they are installing artificial turf on the athletic field. This is not the Metrodome or Giant Stadium. This is Schenectady, home to simple, hard-working white- and blue-collar workers who usually have more month than money left at the end of it all. The pool and the lights, as far as I am concerned, are a white elephant and, well, the turf pushes the imagination beyond what I can even imagine as a reasonable, well-thought-out investment of tax dollars. Who comes up with these ideas? And are the inmates running the asylum now? Schenectady deserves better than this. Certainly there must be a better, more productive use of our tax dollars than this. Albert DeMarco Schenectady
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| Jerry Moore (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 23763 Registered: 01-2000 Rating: N/A |
$30 million available to support energy conservation projects in schools by Bob Lowry / EdVANTAGE Blog July 28th, 2009 A few weeks back we posted an item about the availability of funding for energy conservation studies through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Now NYSERDA asks that we pass along notice of availability of more substantial funding to support implementation of energy conservation initiatives. Below is the notice NYSERDA provided: NYSERDA announces the availability of $74 million through RFP 1613, Project Implementation for State Energy Program. RFP 1613 has a competitive application process and funds will be awarded based on the value of the project. Selection criteria include cost effectiveness, leveraging of funds, benchmarking, and compliance with New York State Energy Conservation Code. Eligible applicants include municipal governments, public K-12 schools, public universities or colleges (including SUNY, SUNY community colleges, CUNY, CUNY community colleges), hospitals and non-profit organizations (defined as a Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) qualifying organization formed prior to February 17, 2009). Each proposed project must fall into one of the following categories: energy efficiency; renewable energy; or alternative fuel vehicles. Each applicant will be eligible to receive funding up to 100% of the project cost with a limit of $1,000,000 per applicant. The RFP application can be viewed here http://www.nyserda.org/funding/1613rfp.asp . We have been advised that $30 million is specifically available to support school projects.
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