Among the elementary schools, Columbus will require the largest outlay for repairs and renovations at $5.9 million. Henry Barnard Elementary School has the smallest allocation at $1.8 million.
By Sarah Varney
At the Oct. 6 meeting of the City School District of New Rochelle Board of Education, district officials unveiled a proposed $50 million bond that would be used entirely to pay for repairs at the 10 city schools.
“This is the single most significant issue in the district,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Osborne said.
Funding the bond without an increase in the tax levy or any threat to the 2 percent tax cap is possible because of the amount of debt the district will begin to shed starting next year. While the district will shed just $400,000 in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, more significant decreases will begin in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 fiscal years. For example, interest payments in 2020 will decrease from $8.4 million to $3.6 million, according to James Nytko, assistant vice president at Capital Market Advisors, LLC.
Because large portions of existing debt at higher interest rates are being paid off, the district can issue new debt that costs less, Nytko said. Record low interest rates make this possible. The current prime interest rate available is currently 3.2 percent. For additional flexibility, the district will use Bond Anticipation Notes or BANs borrowed at around 1.2 percent to layer in funds as needed, Nytko added.
Jeffrey Wright, assistant superintendent for business, likened the situation to the mortgage on a house that is just about paid off. “Because the district has so little debt outstanding, this is the perfect time to be making this investment,” Wright said.
The referendum on the bond will be held on Dec. 15.
With the money, each school will receive a new roof. Other designated needs include masonry repairs, the replacement of doors and windows, electrical upgrades and renovations to bring the schools up to date with Americans with Disabilities Act codes.
To illustrate the immediacy of the situation, Thomas Ritzenthaler, a vice president at CSArch, an architectural consulting firm that conducted the district’s Building Condition Survey, showed recent photos taken during a 2015 Building Condition Survey, which is mandated every five years by the New York State Education Department. One photo showed a collapsed fire escape stairway at Jefferson Elementary School.
“Under ADA rules, exterior fire escapes like this aren’t even allowed anymore,” Ritzenthaler said.
If the bond is approved, the repairs and renovations would be completed in three phases starting next summer and ending the summer of 2018. Construction during the summers will minimize disruption to students and staff, according to district officials. Phase one will focus on stabilizing the buildings with new roofs and masonry repairs.
School board member Chrisanne Petrone sought clarification from Ritzenthaler and Wright that urgent problems are getting attention now. Ritzenthaler said that he recently spotted a dangerously loose stone lintel over a school window. Masons were called in to make the repair.
The Aug. 5 second-floor ceiling collapse at Daniel Webster Elementary School, which necessitated moving all students to a temporary site nearby, was caused by years of water leakage into the inside walls.
Work is ongoing at Daniel Webster where all students there were moved to the Holy Family School until Daniel Webster is renovated. The target date for completion is Jan. 4, 2016.
The district has budgeted $2 million for repairs at Daniel Webster.
Money for critical repairs at Daniel Webster, Columbus and Trinity Elementary schools, plus new boilers for Albert Leonard Middle School comes to approximately $10 million, Osborne said. And $9 million of that amount was obtained through an Energy Savings Performance Contract, ESPC. In New York state, the ESPC contracting program is done through the New York Power Authority. Essentially, the contracts allow public entities to undertake capital projects with demonstrable energy savings without payment up front.
Osborn is confident that the ESPC contract will pay off.
“We’ll save over $5.4 million in energy costs each year,” he said.
CONTACT: sarah@hometwn.com