School project cut for 2nd try

TURIN — Nearly 11/2 years after South Lewis School District residents voted down a $30.1 million capital project, district officials have come back with a pared-down project that removes two controversial aspects and would have no local tax impact.

The $18.7 million project — recently approved by the Board of Education — would, for the most part, address building deficiencies identified in a state-required building conditions survey, said District Superintendent Frank C. House.

"They're things that need to be done," Mr. House said.

The capital project would be funded through 98 percent state building aid, with $343,000 from the state Expanding Our Children's Education and Learning program essentially covering the local share. To utilize EXCEL funding, district officials had to come up with a project addressing health and safety, expansion, energy, accessibility and education technology.

"The Board of Education decided from the very beginning of project discussions that the only way this project would be put to the voters is if it costs the taxpayers nothing," states a district brochure.

With no guarantee that the relatively high building aid and EXCEL aid will be available in the future, the Board of Education decided to undertake the project now, Mr. House said.

District residents will vote on the project during the annual school budget vote from noon to 8 p.m. May 20 in the middle-high school music room. An informational session will be held at 7 p.m. May 13 in conjunction with the budget hearing.

District voters in December 2006 voted down a capital project, 780-460, which would have consolidated the district's three elementary schools into a new, centralized one and created new athletic fields on land across from the middle-high school.

The new project includes neither.

However, a proposed switch from heating-oil to wood-chip boilers at the middle-high school and bus garage, which generated plenty of interest at public hearings in late 2006, has been retained.

The move had been projected to save the district about $100,000 annually in heating costs. And, with the cost of fuel oil continuing to rise, it made even more sense to include the biomass boiler in the new project, Mr. House said.

The project also would include air-conditioning system upgrades; swimming pool repairs; kitchen and auditorium upgrades; replacement of roofing, exterior doors, the master clock system, lockers and the middle school gymnasium partition; development of a school-based health center; and technology upgrades.

"It makes every classroom state-of-the-art for technology," Mr. House said.

Elementary schools in Port Leyden, Glenfield and Constableville also would get exterior speakers to ensure students and faculty outside would be aware of emergency situations, along with smart boards in classrooms, emergency generator upgrades and other various repairs.

The project also would replace doors, windows and lifts in the bus garage to better accommodate newer buses, plus repair the floor, roof and other areas.

"Buses are getting larger," Mr. House said. "And, of course, the garage is not."

According to District Business Manager Barry J. Vette, project costs would break down as 70 percent for the middle-high school, 22 percent for elementary schools and 8 percent for the bus garage.

If the project passes, plans would be submitted to the state Education Department for approval. Since that agency is reviewing a large number of school capital projects, work on the South Lewis project likely wouldn't begin for another 11/2 to 2 years, Mr. House said.