The current capital project in the Horseheads Central School District involves all schools and totals $15.3 million. Approved by voters in November 2006, it is a multi-year project that groups several annual maintenance projects into a larger project in order to take advantage of a state incentive for building, and to meet specific goals. The goals of the project are program enhancement, building preservation, energy savings, and health and safety.
The project began in the summer of 2007 and will take two to three years to complete.
The Horseheads district includes more than 750,000 square feet of building area and more than 130 acres of playfields, parking areas, and roadways.
The proposed project includes work in all the district's schools, plus the Transportation Department. It also includes the installment of a district-wide wireless network system that will allow for expanded use of computer systems across the district.
At the High School, the proposal includes several projects, from replacing emergency generators and the oldest section of roof to renovating the auditorium.
The High School auditorium has not had a major renovation since it was built more than 50 years ago. The auditorium is used by all schools and several community groups. The proposed auditorium work includes replacing seating, installing new lighting systems and controls, and raising the roof on the stage area to allow scenery and curtains to be raised upward. It also includes renovating the dressing rooms and storage areas, and installing air conditioning in the auditorium so the facility can be used all year round.
The majority of the work at the Middle/Intermediate School includes replacing the windows to lighter, more energy-efficient models. The project at this complex also includes replacing boilers and gym lighting, which was recommended by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. It also includes replacing air handlers to improve ventilation.
Work at the elementary schools and Transportation Department includes enlarging the parking areas and replacing emergency generators. At those elementary schools that have not had renovations in the group restrooms to date, the project includes replacing old toilet fixtures and upgrading ventilation systems. It also includes replacing windows at Gardner Road with energy-efficient models.
The project also includes replacing chalk boards with white boards in those classrooms that have not had the boards replaced to date. Teachers use markers on white boards, not chalk with traditional boards, so there is no chalk dust in the air to cause allergic reactions.
"Much of the work is the nuts and bolts that preserve our buildings," said Director of Facilities Tom Pollard. The newest district building, the Middle/Intermediate complex, is nearly 40 years old. Several of the elementary schools and the High School North Wing hit the fifty-year-old milestone in recent years.
The $15.3 million project is funded through general state building aid, new state EXCEL aid for building projects, and use of the district's capital reserve fund.
EXCEL aid is a form of aid offered by the state in 2006 for certain district building projects. It's an incentive to districts to address the needs identified in their required five-year building inspection reports. The state allocated nearly $1.4 million to Horseheads in EXCEL aid, which can only be used for such building projects.
This amount, plus $1.65 million from the district's capital reserve fund, will make up the local portion of the project. The remaining cost of the $15.3 million project, approximately 80%, will be paid through general building aid from the state. This aid is returned to the district in the year following the expenditures. To fund the project up front, the district would purchase bonds, which would replace retired debt, so there would be no new local taxpayer impact.
The capital reserve fund allows the district to set aside funds for capital projects, decreasing the amount needed to borrow. The establishment of the capital reserve fund was approved by voters in May 2002. The Board of Education has funded the reserve from unappropriated fund balance amounts and interest earnings.
The district is purchasing bonds to fund the project up front. The bonds would replace retired debt, so there is no new local taxpayer dollars needed for the project.
