The Board of Education is investigating a capital bond project that will provide money for roof repairs, site improvements, electrical upgrades, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) replacements throughout the school district.
The projected useful life of many of these facilities will come to an end as early as 2007, and the equipment will therefore require attention in the near future. To remedy this, the administration is hoping to issue a bond for between $45 million and $65 million, which will provide funds in addition to the operating budget (i.e. money provided by property taxes). Superintendent Judith Pastel said, “Depending on the site, with additions, we can pay it off over the course of 20 years.”
The bond process began in November and December of 2005 with a routine facilities survey mandated by the state. An architect and an engineer evaluated the lifespan of all Ithaca City School District building systems, and at the same time, the administration received input about project needs from staff members, Site Councils, and PTAs.
In July and September of 2006, a district-wide Facilities Bond Committee was formed, with representation from the community such as Athletic Boosters, Cornell, Ithaca College, Ithaca Public Education Initiative, PTA, Site Councils, and the Chamber of Commerce. Together, they discussed preliminary decisions such as when to hold the public referenda, the number of propositions to be voted upon, what projects would be included, and the dollar amount of each proposition.
These decisions were based on a number of factors, including the predicted end of the facilities’ useful life, anticipated cost escalation for a project, state building aid, economies of scale (saving money by conducting similar projects at multiple sites), and the number of projects that can be effectively managed at a given time.
To complicate the district’s work, the window for project work is quite small. “One of the things that people don’t understand is that with public schools, you have a very narrow window in order to do the construction because it’s only July and August when the buildings are vacated, and teachers get grumpy if they can’t get in until September 1, so you actually have less than two months for the renovations,” said Pastel. However, she added, “There are some renovations that you can actually do while school is in session, but you have to do them after the students are out of the building. They have to be such that there’s no smell or safety issues with wires.”
Project timing is also important. “The voter votes on the amount of money for the bond that the district can spend.” said Pastel. However, the bonds must not be issued all at once. “You only [issue the bonds] when you’re going to be spending the money, and we’re not going to spend all the money at once,” explained Pastel. “Let’s say the board passes a bond at $50 million. You don’t want to have $30 million of it done in one year, because to pay the debt back you’d have a huge spike in the budget...” Pastel plans to spread the use of the bond money out: “[For] some things, we’ll issue it in 2008, and start paying then, but then other things we might not start until 2010.”
The district is working with Fiscal Advisors, architect Tony Egner, and Welliver Maguire, a construction management firm, all of whom help “lay out how to have the least sudden impact on the tax payers,” and work out estimates of the cost for each project. The district receives 58 percent building aid from the state. Thus, “If we spend a million dollars, we get $580,000 from the state, which is just another taxing agency, but it’s not the local property tax,” Pastel said. The remaining $420,000 would come from local property taxes.
Still, not all the money spent by the school district falls under this category. “[The project] has to be connected to the instructional space for students. The windows, the heating, and ventilating are because they impact your learning environment. But fixing the parking lot is not, because it’s not instructional space,” said Pastel. She estimated 95 percent of the projects were in fact connected to students, and would qualify for aid.
The district is also in the process of paying off roughly three million dollars of debt service, and is allowed over $100 million at a given time.
Many of the projects included in the bond will become critical in the next couple of years and will need to be funded even if the bond does not pass. According to Pastel, the district has a couple of options in this situation. One is to dramatically increase the operating budget, a decision that would also go before the voters. “The problem with having it in the annual budget is all of the cost is taxed in one year. With these projects, we can pay them back over 15 to 20 years. [Paying the debt back in one year] is an incredible burden.” Still, if necessary, the BoE will present the public with another bond. It also plans on having exit surveys that will provide information about why a bond passed or didn’t pass.
So, what exactly is the district looking at in terms of the necessities? Rudimentary repairs such as HVAC replacements are needed at Boynton, Dewitt, IHS, and many of the elementary schools. Electrical upgrades and roof and window replacements are also becoming necessary throughout the district, as well as playground renovations at elementary schools to ensure that they meet safety standards.
But the BoE also hopes to fund additions for Belle Sherman, LACS, and IHS. Belle Sherman Elementary is one of the last schools to have its gym serving as both a cafeteria and an auditorium. The BoE is likely to put a new gym in the bond. LACS also needs a new gym for the same reason, as well as a library and new science rooms. LACS currently has two science rooms, both of which leave much to be desired. “It was very disturbing to go into the science classrooms at LACS, and then go into the science class rooms even in a middle school, and you’re in a lab setting, whereas in [LACS] it’s an elementary classroom, which is also smaller than a secondary classroom,” said Pastel.
Additions to IHS are also being considered. Omni-turf for the athletic fields, outdoor bathrooms, and two new tennis courts have been proposed. The Athletic Department is seeking a large addition the current gym complex—one that would touch the District’s property line with that of the nearby garage, Deeb’s. The addition would include a matted wellness room, with space for two classes, and a new gym that would have a standard volleyball court and bleachers. The gym would provide more indoor space for sports practices, some of which can only happen later in the evening. “We shouldn’t have some of our athletic contests beginning at 7:30 and 7:45 at night. It makes nights too long for the students,” said Pastel. Pastel also hopes to keep Activities a student space, though some have suggested that it should be used for other purposes. She hopes to renovate it in a way that would be more appealing for the students, such as couches, a quiet area, and a television set to CNN.
Kulp Auditorium is another major candidate for renovations. Proposals have a 10-foot strip added to Kulp. The new space will include self-contained areas for the band, orchestra, and choir in the form of many more rehearsal and practice rooms. In addition, Pastel hopes to see a props-development shop, offices for production managers, a flexible theater, and a dance floor (also known as a black box) for future dance programs IHS might have. The lobby of Kulp would also be larger, with its own bathrooms, and perhaps a snack bar and ticket booth. The entrance would be at the ground level with an enclosed stairway. With these additions, the entire building would become more energy efficient because of the new walls and zoned air conditioning.
In early December, there were two small group discussions of the bond for the public, as well as a public forum. “The community, students, staff, and parents, [were] able to speak directly to the board, and say ‘I think X is really important, and you should include it in the bond, and it’s worth every penny,’ or ‘I think having another gym added on to Ithaca High School isn’t really necessary, only go with the strength and conditioning room,’” explained Pastel.