Board of Education hears from financial and architectural advisors
Updated information to be presented on Oct. 6 at Glendaal Elementary

Fiscal Advisors and Mosaic Associates architects, formerly Dodge, Chamberlin, Luzine, Weber, presented information to the Board of Education on Monday, Sept. 29.

The total project cost could be $27,778,917. That would require an estimated tax increase of 2.68 percent that would be phased in over three years.

To the average homeowner in Scotia-Glenville, that would mean a one-time annual tax increase of $72 on a home assessed at $160,000 - or $6 per month that would remain the same for the entire 15 year repayment period. That would be before any reductions from the state's STAR tax reduction program.

The district's cost would be reduced by a 80.9 percent state aid reimbursement, an estimated $934,871 in special state EXCEL (EXpanding our Children’s Education and Learning) aid and use of a $900,000 debt reserve. As well, two other current debt payments would be paid off during the term of this project, further reducing the local cost.

Nearly $5 million of the project's costs would be at no local taxpayer cost because the combination of state aid and EXCEL aid will cover the entire cost.

The project, once it is completed phased in, would require an annual $642,628 payment - a 1.4 percent increase in spending that will remain the same for the entire 15 repayment period.

The advisors also indicated that, while the community may tentatively vote on Tuesday, Dec. 9, bids would not be accepted from contractors until the spring or summer of 2010. In the interim, the project would be designed and approved by the state Education Department.

These numbers are conservative and will be reduced

The financial and architectural advisors stressed that these are conservative numbers and the figures will likely be lower for these three reasons:

• About $1.27 million in expenditures that were included for the district office and bus garage will be removed from the estimates. Those expenses were not eligible for state aid reimbursement. Placing those special state EXCEL aid expenditures into other areas of the project will further reduce local costs.

• Board of Education members discussed renovating the current library at the high school instead of buiilding a new one. It would be expanded into the adjoining court yard and be expanded to 7,500 square feet from the current 4,300 square feet. That reduction will likely reduce the total and local cost.

• The proposed atheltic improvements at the current football field was only included in the "incidental" costs for the high school even though it is a shared campus with the middle school and Sacandaga Elementary. The representative from Fiscal Advisors said he was confident that the field could be included in all three schools' projects, thereby increasing the amount of eligible state aid and reducing the local costs.

The advisors plan to have updated information at the board's Oct. 6 meeting at 7 p.m. at the Glendaal Elementary School.

What's included in the project?
As it stands now, the project will include new roofs on the elementary schools (except Glendaal, which was done last summer), replacement of the 10-year-old computer/telephone servers and network, rehabilitation of the family and consumer science classrooms at the middle school and high school; technology education classrooms at the high school and middle school, expansion of science classrooms at the middle school and expansion and enclosure of the "open" library of the middle school library and construction of a new high school library with art rooms and an art gallery going in the current library. As well, the current football field would be converted to an all-sport artificial synthetic turf field surrounded by an 8-lane track.

Here is a brochure, in pdf, that explains more about the project.

Board of Education members also asked questions about the synthetic turf, which would replace the current football field. A new track would also require moving the Sacandaga playground because the new track is not oblong, like the current track, but is wider and shorter. It would be the same length for runners.