Q: How will this referendum be presented to voters?
A: Voters will vote “yes” or “no” to the overall scope of proposed work. The vote will be on the full project, not individual buildings or items.
Q: If the referendum is approved, how can residents be assured the project would be kept fiscally on track?
A: By law, the district cannot exceed the amount of the public referendum once it has been approved by voters. In developing the plan, the district’s architects have strived to accurately forecast the cost of materials (which continually rise).
Q: What happens if the project is not approved?
A: If voters reject the proposed plan in December, the district’s space and facilities issues would still need to be addressed. In fact, many items included in this project are priorities that need to be addressed soon for health and safety reasons. If these items are funded through the district’s regular budget rather than in the capital project, they may not receive as much state aid, which would cost local taxpayers substantially more.
Q: Instead of funding a capital improvements project, why don’t we use this money for educational programming, like additional technology or music programs?
A: Capital projects are funded through a different source than our regular annual school budget. Curriculum programming cannot be funded out of a capital project budget. Capital improvement projects, like this one, are eligible for state aid reimbursement from New York State. Our district is eligible to receive up to 83.4% back on every dollar spent. If the district completed capital project items through our annual school budget, we would lose our district’s portion of allocated state aid.
Q: How long would the stadium lights last and how much will they cost to run?
A: Although the stadium lights are not yet designed, we anticipate there will be four poles with eight to 12 LED fixtures per pole. LED technology has improved tremendously over the last several years and is a good light solution due to its energy efficiency, quality of light, and life expectancy. It is anticipated that the cost to have the lights operating for one hour will be approximately $6. This is based on the assumption that each LED fixture will produce 1,100 watts – for a total of 52,800 watts per pole. The LED lights are expected to have approximately 51,000 hours of use, which means they will last for a very long time. One of the manufacturers that would be considered offers a 25 year warranty on the lights, which shows that they will hold up well over time.