| Welcome to the Cooperstown Crier |
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
11-09-2006 By CASEY CAMPBELL Staff Writer School board president Anthony Scalici said the board would pick up where it left off during the summer and would like to finalize a proposal at Wednesday’s meeting. "Hopefully we’re going to conclude what we need to conclude if we’re going to proceed with a project this year," he said. In August, the board decided to move forward with a project that would cost approximately $5 million. Items were included in the project primarily dependant on health, safety and energy efficiency reasons. However, the cost of the project will likely increase once revised estimates are provided by the project architect. Previous figures were based on numbers from 2005 and most material costs are expected to rise. Superintendent Mary Jo McPhail said two items were also added to the project’s scope: the full replacement of Kid City and renovations in the five middle/high school science classrooms. She did not have the costs of those items from the engineer Tuesday morning. Scalici said the science lab renovations were added back into the project because portions of the lab are not functioning and what’s there is outdated. "It’s really not a healthy academic situation there," he said. Scalici said the board did not have a timetable set for a vote or for when the final project would be presented to the public, but would likely discuss that at the meeting. "Initially we laid out a scenario that would have allowed the project to go to voters in the spring. We’ll have to look and see if that’s still possible," he said. He said members of the public are encouraged to attend and will have a chance to comment on the project at the end of the work session. McPhail said there is $347,000 in state money available to the district through the Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning (EXCEL) Capital Program and that the board would likely use some of that money in the project. In August, business manager Jim Collison estimated that an approximately $5 million project would have an impact on the tax levy of about 1.25 percent. Rick Hulse, a member of a concerned citizens group which opposed last December’s $20 million proposal, said in August that he would be inclined to support a scaled-back project. "I think it makes sense," he said then. "I think this is what we were looking for last year." The work session is schedule for 4 p.m. in the middle/high school cafeteria. |
Copyright 2007, Cooperstown Crier, Cooperstown, NY All rights reserved