The Saugerties school buildings need fixing, and the school district has developed a plan for repairing, renovating and upgrading the district’s buildings, schools superintendent Kirk Reinhardt told the village board at its last meeting. Reinhardt has also spoken at a number of organizations in the area, and presented his case to the town board on November 18.
The vote on the project is set for December 15. Polls at the four elementary s schools will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Absentee ballots are available from the school district.
The initial survey of the district’s buildings, and what needs to be done, will cost between $30 million and $40 million, Reinhardt said. The last capital project was in 2005-2006, he said, was for $24 million.
The current figure for the necessary work is $22 million, Reinhardt said. How did the district come up with that number? “The goal was to get the work done that needed to be done and to make it tax-neutral. We didn’t want a tax increase.”
The work is necessary repair and maintenance, Reinhardt said. “There’s not a lot of fancy work.” Among the projects the district is looking at are roof repairs, windows, vestibules, parking lots, heating.” Some locker rooms need upgrades, and some work is being done in the auditorium. “This is blue-collar work that we believe needs to be done in order to maintain our buildings,” he said. The complete list can be found at https://www.saugerties.k12.ny.us/Page/13311.
Jane St. Amour, the district’s business manager, said the last project in 2005 and 2006 was financed over 15 years. Schools receive building aid from the state, so financing works somewhat differently than municipal finance, she said. The school district’s share of the cost of the work was $800,000 per year, she said. That old bond will be completely paid off in two years, St. Amour said, and that is about when the district will begin paying for the next round of work.
“Pat of our aim was to keep that share at $800,000,” she said. This would keep the tax cap neutral, and not “change the tax levy too much.” It wasn’t going to change to capital portion of the [tax] levy at all.
The vote in December will include an EPC [energy performance contract]. If voters approve, the school district would gain an additional 10 percent in aid, she said.
“About a year ago, the board voted to go with Honeywell to contract with an energy performance agreement,” she said. To get an additional tem percent [aid] on this project, we need the voters to agree to it,” she said. “Right now we’re looking at getting 56 percent back, but if the voters approve it, we will get 66 percent,” she said. “One of the advantages of the energy performance contract is that the savings in energy pays for the contract itself, but the district also gets state aid.”
The capital cost is separate from staffing, program and operation of the schools, Reinhardt added. “This is a different part of our budget.” He suggested residents look at the school’s website. “The package will provide for work that needs to be done, but will also be responsible to the community,” Reinhardt said. “It’s not glamorous; it’s what we need to do to maintain our buildings.”
Mayor William Murphy said the school district did a great job keeping the proposed improvements tax-neutral. He thanked the school officials for including him in the discussions as the district developed its plans. Village trustees Terry Parisian and Vincent Buono had served on the school board.
The project needs approval from the State Education Department. Construction would probably take place in 2022 to 2023.
Parisian asked about the reimbursement rates the school district could receive on the project. The district now receives 56 percent on the EPC project, but if the voters approve it the project would be reimbursed at the same rate as the school repair and upgrade project, 65 or 67.5 percent, Amour said.
A virtual tour, with photos of the areas that will be upgraded, is at https://www.saugerties.k12.ny.us/cms/lib/NY24000038/Centricity/Domain/930/VirtualTour.pdf.
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