Improvements
proposed to enhance student safety and increase energy efficiency
Voters to decide safety referendum on February 27 Since September, three
separate and tragic acts of violence in schools across the country
have refocused attention on school safety and security. The
Niskayuna Central School District has an opportunity to
significantly enhance safety and building security for students and
staff, and further promote energy conservation — at no cost to local
property owners.
During its Dec. 18 meeting, the Board of Education authorized the
proposal of a $4.7 million project that would increase campus safety
including additional exterior and perimeter lighting, intrusion
detection devices, a comprehensive closed circuit television
security system, new exterior doors equipped with electronic access
controls, a redesign of main entrances, and direct digital control
equipment to better monitor energy consumption.
Residents will be asked to consider the referendum on February 27. Why now?
A new form of funding, called Excel aid, provided by the New York
State Legislature in this year's state budget is designated for
specific categories of school renovations and construction. Through
Excel aid, the Niskayuna school district would receive $1,378,939 to
apply toward safety and energy enhancements some of which were
deferred from the scope of the January 2006 building project. The
remaining cost of the proposed safety enhancement project would be
paid through traditional state building aid. What is Excel aid?
EXCEL (Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning) aid is
funding available to school districts on a limited basis. It may be
applied only toward the cost of specific repairs and renovations
including education technology, health and safety, accessibility,
physical capacity expansion and energy enhancement. The State
Legislature provided EXCEL aid in this year’s state budget, however,
school districts did not learn specific details about applying for
this new aid until late summer. Can this wait?
There are several compelling reasons for moving quickly. First and
foremost, the State Education Department (SED) recommends that
school districts apply for Excel aid as soon as possible because of
the two-year window of availability. As a result of the Excel aid
incentive, most school districts around the state are expected to
propose building projects during the next two years, which could
create lengthy delays in SED’s building approval process. Another
consideration is that with a flood of projects, construction bids
will be less competitive resulting in higher costs. Finally, the
timing is advantageous for Niskayuna because these proposed
improvements could coincide with work on the building project
approved last January allowing the district to take advantage of
cost efficiencies in labor and materials – ultimately saving the
district money in the long run. How can a $4.7 million referendum mean no
additional taxes for local property owners?
Traditional state building aid would cover 70 percent of the cost of
the proposed project. The local share, or remaining 30 percent,
would be paid for using Excel funds. By leveraging these two
categories of aid, the proposed project would result in no cost to
local taxpayers.
“Many of the safety and security measures proposed in this project
had previously been identified as important by community members
serving on our facilities committee but were reduced from the
January 2006 project to scale down the cost," said Superintendent
Kevin Baughman. "We now have a unique opportunity to restore those
items that will enhance safety for our students and staff, and
increase energy efficiency in our schools without increasing
property taxes.” More information
School officials will host two informational forums about the
proposed safety enhancement project before the public vote in
February. The first will take place on Feb. 5 at Niskayuna High
School’s Little Theater at 7 p.m. The second forum is scheduled for
Feb. 13 at Iroquois Middle School’s cafeteria at 7 p.m. Further
details will also be available in upcoming editions of Your
Schools and on the district Web site.
Improvements
proposed to enhance student safety and increase energy efficiency