RCS schedules special district vote on Oct. 9

Safety, health, efficiency will be on the ballot

District residents will head to the polls on October 9 to consider a $2,353,243 capital project for improvements to the district’s schools, as well as a separate, $390,000 project to improve the district’s transportation building.

The $2.3 million project will largely be funded through a special one-time Excel Grant and additional standard state aid that would leave little if any cost to taxpayers, said interim Business Administrator Gene Grasso. Meanwhile the bus garage project – while not eligible for EXCEL aid – may still be eligible for standard state aid.

A third proposition on the October 9 ballot is to advise the Board of Education on the public’s choice for filling the vacant ninth position on the Board of Education. Residents will recommend through their vote a candidate to fill the slot, but the vote will be non-binding and the Board of Education will ultimately decide who fills the position.

The non-binding vote is scheduled because the district can not meet the state time requirements for a binding election and still conduct the election along with the capital projects vote on Oct. 9. (State law mandates that a special election to fill a board vacancy occur within 90 days of the vacancy's creation).

Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the High School gymnasium. Residents who want to vote by absentee ballot can do so by requesting one from the district Business Office at 756-5200, ext. 6000.

Proposition 1 – the EXCEL project

The EXCEL (Expanding Children's Education and Learning) Grant Program - which has been utilized by a number of districts around the Capital Region in recent months - provides nearly 100 percent state funding for capital projects when combined with state building aid, though school districts may be liable for the interest costs of funds borrowed while awaiting the state aid. 

Much of the project's work – such as the replacement of hot water heaters in many of the buildings, the addition of natural gas service to the middle school and the installation of thermal windows in sections of the high school – is designed to reduce energy usage and related costs. As a result, a long-term savings for district taxpayers is expected, school officials said. Much of the work in the project was removed from the 1999 and 2004 Capital Projects as a result of unexpected cost increases for labor and building materials.

A breakdown of the specifics of the $2.3 million EXCEL project is as follows:

High School

• $288,000 - Roof replacement of the cafeteria wing 
• $414,000 - Window replacement
• $73,243 - Replacing interior classroom locks
• $88,000 - Replacing vestibule doors
• $46,000 - Expanding the loading dock
•  $91,000 - Reconstructing the gymnasium ceiling
• $135,000 - Replacing the leech fields behind the high school that caused an odor problem at the school two years ago.

Middle School

• $110,000 - Installing natural gas service to the building
• $107,000 - Replacing the hot water heater system for the gym lockers with natural gas heater
• $231,000 Replacing cafeteria and library rooftop units with natural gas fired-unit
• $78,000 - Replacing the hot water heater for the kitchen
• $198,000 - Replacing ceilings

A.W. Becker Elementary School

• $154,000 – Improvements to more efficient boiler room pipes
• $93,000 - Replacing the hot water heater and storage tank

Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School

• $154,000 – Improvements to more efficient boiler room pipes
• $93,000 - Replacing the hot water heater and storage tank

EXCEL aid was included in the 2006-07 state budget; however it was not announced by the N.Y.S. Education Department until October. This funding is SEPARATE from and in addition to the building aid the district currently receives.

Using these two forms of state aid, the district can finance $2.35 million worth of building projects with little or no cost to local taxpayers because the state EXCEL aid would cover the share of the project traditionally paid for through the tax levy.

The only cost to taxpayers may come in interest costs associated with the sale of the bonds to fund the project.

Proposition 2

Passage of proposition two for the bus garage work would allow the roof of the garage to be replaced at a projected cost of $266,000, the boiler to be replaced at a cost of $112,000 and the installation of fuel monitoring devices along with the reconstruction of the fuel island at a projected cost of $12,000.

The project may be eligible for the 70 percent state building aid RCS traditionally receives on building work.

Board elections

Anyone interested in being appointed to the Board of Education can seek a nominating petition from the Business Office, located at 26 Thatcher Street in Selkirk.

Nominating petitions must be directed to the Clerk of the District, must be signed by forty-five (45) qualified voters of the district, shall state the residence of each signer, and shall state the name and residence of the candidate.

All petitions must be submitted by 4 p.m. on September 10.

Voters will select a candidate like a normal Board of Education election; however, the board will retain the authority to appoint the person they want to fill the ninth position on the board.

The person will serve in the post to June 30 and must be reelected in the May district elections if he or she wishes to retain the seat.