Special Vote - November 24
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Capital Project & Reserve Fund
Defeated
Port Jervis City School District residents voted down
propositions
for a $14.6 million building
renovation project
and the establishment of a capital reserve fund to offset the
costs of a future school.
Proposition 1: Narrowly defeated by 26 votes. The
unofficial tally was 549 no votes; 523 yes votes. The project
would have allowed the district to improve school safety and
security by adding secure vestibule entrances, upgrading
emergency exit lighting, replacing building ventilation systems,
and replacing classroom windows with ones that meet current
safety and energy efficiency standards.
Proposition 2: Also defeated was the proposition to
establish a new capital reserve fund. The unofficial results
were 571 no votes; 502 yes votes. The proposition was a request
to allow the district to roll unspent budget allocations at the
end of each school year to an interest-bearing account. The
intent was to save taxpayers money by reducing the amount of
money that will be needed to finance a new school.
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Referenda Details |
District seeking approval for building safety projects,
establishment of capital reserve fund
POSTED: OCT. 7, 2009
Port
Jervis School District residents will go to the polls - Nov.
24 - to vote on a proposed $14.6
million
building renovation project
and a proposition to establish a new 10-year
capital reserve fund
to offset the costs of a future school building. If approved,
the two propositions would allow the district to address several
critical safety and security concerns and prepare for
increasingly-evident need to build a new school.
The Port Jervis School District
Board of Education voted unanimously Oct. 6 to seek voter
approval on the two propositions.
If approved, the
building project would allow the district to
continue its ongoing effort to make needed school building
improvements. Guided by input received by the Master Planning
Committee – comprised of administrators, school board members,
staff, parents, and community volunteers – the referendum would
address the following building concerns:
Project Details
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School
safety/building security:
Upgrade emergency exit lighting, replace building
ventilators, and improve school security by adding secure
vestibule entrances;
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Building integrity:
Replace leaky classroom windows with tempered glass units
designed to serve as emergency classroom exits. The new
units would meet current safety and energy efficiency
standards.
The renovation project would
be funded partially by the district’s remaining allocation of
state EXCEL (Expanding our
Children’s Education and Learning) Aid - the state aid program
designed to assist school districts improve their buildings and
facilities. Additionally - since the project also qualifies
completely for state building aid - the state would reimburse
the district 83 percent of the renovation costs. The
reimbursements would be spread out over the next 15 years.
This would bring the estimated cost for the average local
taxpayer with a home valued at $100,000 to approximately
$14/year after STAR or $8/year
after the Senior STAR Exemption.
The second ballot item is a no cost proposition.
The district is seeking voter
approval to establish an additional capital reserve fund –
essentially a savings account – to offset the costs of a new
school. If approved, the district would be able to prepare for
future needs by rolling over unspent funds into the savings
account at the end of each fiscal year.
Ultimately, the account – and the interest that would be accrued
over the next 10 years – would save taxpayers money by greatly
reducing the amount needed to finance a new school.
Fund Details
Both propositions are designed to meet the long-term
needs identified by the district Master Planning Committee.
“While much has been done over the past few years to improve our
schools, we can’t ignore the safety concerns that still exist in
some buildings.
"Most of our classroom windows do not meet today’s safety
standards. The current windows shatter upon impact and are too
small to serve as emergency exits. The proposed project would
allow the district to replace the unsafe classroom window units
and add safety vestibules to school entrances – both of which
are in line with what safety experts are recommending for
schools across the country,” said Superintendent John Xanthis
and School Board President William Onofry in a joint statement
released after last night’s board meeting.
Both the superintendent and school board president also agree
that the district is at a point where it must look at ways to
address the increasingly-evident need to build a new school.
They indicated that while the size, location and grade-level
configuration of the school have yet to be determined, the
district needs to look for an innovative way to fund its
construction.
Xanthis and Onofry noted, “We are asking voters to consider two
propositions on November 24 – both of which would allow the
district to invest in our schools and our students’ future.”
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Referenda
Community Presentation
(Adobe PDF File)
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Project Details - $14 million Building
Renovation Project
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Details & Answers to Questions -
Capital Reserve Fund
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Capital Project & Reserve Fund Newsletter,
Nov. 2009 (PDF)
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