What is this $12,736,700 bond project for?
Who determined the improvements included in this project?
Why is accessibility for persons with disabilities a big part of this project?
Where will the money come from to fund this project?
How much is this project going to cost ME?
Will this project affect the district's everyday costs?
How did the district determine the cost estimates for this project?
Why is the district proposing this project now, especially when the student population is declining?
Why not just put in a couple of elevators?

What is this $12,736,700 bond project for?
With this proposed project, the district would renovate and update key areas of the Middle/High School, as well as parts of the Elementary School, all to improve the appearance and usefulness of both buildings, as well as achieve full accessibility for persons with disabilities. Here are the major upgrades planned within the project:

In the Middle/High School:

NEW CAFETERIA ADDITION. A nearly 9,500-square-foot addition would be built off the Middle/High School music and technology wing to house an expanded cafeteria and kitchen, giving students more room to enjoy lunch and hold after-school activities. The current cafeteria, located on the basement level of the Middle/High School, is not accessible to students with physical disabilities and, as a result, those students must eat lunch elsewhere. The new cafeteria, however, would eliminate this problem. New restrooms are also planned near the cafeteria.

Technology classrooms. The addition would also include new technology classrooms, designed for instructing students in the most current areas of modern technology, such as alternative power production and computer-aided design (CAD), as well as the traditional areas of woodworking and small engine repair. This classroom and instructional equipment would be accessible to physically disabled students.

Since this addition would be built where the current student parking lot is located, the student parking lot would be relocated next to the soccer field behind the bus garage as part of the project plans.

RENOVATED GYMNASIUM. The proposed project would expand the current gymnasium space to create a corridor for easier access to gym locker rooms.

NEW LOCKER ROOMS. Currently, stairs provide the only access to the boys’ locker room, located below the gym. Students with physical disabilities cannot use it. Both the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms also lack necessary space for sports teams to properly store equipment and practice optimal hygiene before and after practices and games. New locker rooms are proposed to be built off the new gym, providing same-floor access and nearly 3,000 square feet of space for student use and sports equipment storage.

RENOVATED ART ROOM. The current art room, located off the main lobby, cannot sufficiently display artwork, store art supplies, or house larger classes. As a result, art classes often take place in the cafeteria or within a regular classroom, Middle/High School art teachers say. This requires art teachers to transport sensitive materials such as clay, risking damage to artwork. The new art room would be located on the second floor of the Middle/High School where the library and guidance office currently reside, more than doubling its space. The guidance office will move to the current art room.

RENOVATED LIBRARY. Librarian Beth Davis says she must close the library when a class is held there due to lack of space. She often turns students away during study halls and frequently monitors a waiting list for just seven computers the library has room for. "It’s also difficult for me to expand the book collection at this point because we don’t have room for them," she says.

The proposed project would move the library to the first floor next to the music room, nearly doubling its current space. In addition, a separate computer lab would be located off the library to provide students access to more computers for research purposes.

In the Elementary School:

Though the most extensive improvements proposed in this project would take place at the Middle/High School, a number of key renovations are planned for the Elementary School, including renovated bathrooms, an updated fire alarm system, and a new Public Address sys­tem, all built to the most current specifications. The elementary cafeteria would also get a new roof.

Who determined the improvements included in this project?

Members of the Facilities Committee including parents, teachers, students, administrators and community members helped determine the current and future facilities needs of the district, then worked to review and narrow down project options based on those needs. After more than one year of review, the committee, administrators and the Board of Education approved the project up for public vote on December 18. 

Why is accessibility for persons with disabilities a big part of this project?

District buildings – particu­larly the Middle/High School – do not fully meet current state and federal accessibility standards for persons with disabilities, and they need to, says Superinten­dent Steven Schrade.

“Academic achievement is impacted by more than just the teacher and the student,” says Maureen Sikule, President of the Board of Education. “When students feel con­nected to their school, academic performance improves. Yet we have areas of our school where students with disabilities cannot connect.”

BKW’s buildings were designed and built during a time when providing acces­sibility wasn’t federal law and little social awareness on the subject existed.

The age of the buildings – and the costs associated with up­dating them – have made it difficult to get the tim­ing right for the large-scale renovation needed. That’s why the district has performed, with approval from district residents, a number of smaller projects that made some improvements without stretching the wallets of district residents too thin. These completed projects include the installation of elevators and lifts at both the Elementary School and Middle/High School.

While these smaller projects helped, they have not fully satisfied the district’s ever-evolving accessibility needs.

The number of students in the district classified with either a learning or physical disability has increased to 214 this year, up from 168 just five years ago, says Kim­berly LaBelle, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. While the number of students with physical disabilities at BKW remains small, the district makes itself vulnerable to the possibilities of losing state aid or subjecting itself to lawsuits the longer it does not comply with state and federal accessibility laws.

“The risk of incurring these kinds of needless costs is fully avoidable by invest­ing now in the cause to make our build­ings fully accessible to all,” Schrade says. “What’s more, every student is entitled to the same rights and privileges. When stu­dents in wheelchairs can’t eat lunch with their friends in the cafeteria because that area is not accessible to them, we’re doing a grave disservice not just to them, but to our community.”

The Federal No Child Left Behind Act mandates districts like BKW make progress year after year educating students with dis­abilities. Fulfilling this requirement becomes more and more difficult when the facilities are not fully accessible to those students.

Where will the money come from to fund this project?

A combination of state building aid, EXCEL aid, a portion of the district's capital reserve and a share paid by local taxpayers will finance the project.

State Aid Reimbursement:  $9,067,912
EXCEL AID:                         $  340,008
Capital Reserve:                 $1,300,000
Local Share:                       $2,028,780
TOTAL                              $12,736,700

How much is this project going to cost ME?
As shown above, the local share for this project would be $2,028,780. That amount would be paid back over the course of 15 years. The district estimates that the project would cost an AVERAGE $6 per year, or $90 total, for homeowners with a home assessed at $100,000 and taking advantage of the STAR exemption. For seniors with the Senior STAR exemption, the cost would average about $2.65 per year, or $39.75 total, based on the same $100,000 assessed home value.

Obviously, these amounts would be more for homeowners with homes assessed higher than $100,000, and lower for those with homes assessed lower than $100,000. 

In addition, it's important to note this is an AVERAGE cost, meaning the amount each individual would pay each year toward the project will fluctuate between as little as 50 cents to around $10. To most accurately describe what this project would cost residents, the district opted to provide the average annual cost amounts. Here are the average annual payments arranged by town and STAR exemption type, based on a $100,000 home value:

Will this project affect the district's everyday costs?
Yes. Once completed, the expanded space will increase utility usage, e.g., heating and lighting. The district would also likely need to hire a part-time custodian to help with mainte­nance needs in the new addition.

However, new facilities are always more energy efficient, so the district expects any changes in heating cost to be minimal. In addition, the planned reconstruction and insulation of the currently uninsulated au­ditorium and gymnasium walls is expected to yield long-term energy savings.

Cost-saving measures enacted more than four years ago will also help the dis­trict keep its utilities operating as efficiently as possible. As of last winter, the district had saved upwards of $57,000 in mainte­nance costs and heating fuel over the past three years, thanks to new burners, boilers and energy-efficient temperature control technology installed at both schools.

How did the district determine the cost estimates for this project?
Administrators enlisted the help of architect Karl Griffith, of the Schenectady firm Griffith Dardanelli Architects PC, in the development of the proposed project and its related costs. Working with the architect, the district used cost estimates that allow for anticipated market price changes in construction materials. 

Why is the district proposing this project now, especially when the student population is declining?

Simply, administrators feel the district cannot wait any longer for the improvements without substantial risk of failing to meet educational goals and honor legal obligations. In addition, a combination of building incentives from the state and the district’s own efforts to save money would provide the improvements BKW buildings need at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers.

“Several years ago we as a community agreed to fund a reserve for our school facili­ties for projects such as this proposal,” says Board President Sikule. “Passing the bond resolution authorizes the district to use that reserve, along with state and excel aid, to partially fund the project and lower the financial impact on our community.”

The district is eligible this year for $340,008 in EXCEL aid (state funding exclusively for building projects). The district may lose this building aid if it’s not earmarked by the end of this school year.

“These improvements are needed, re­gardless of the number of students attend­ing BKW, “ Superintendent Schrade says. “But for some time we hesitated to put a project like this before the public because we didn’t want to overburden residents with school-related costs. However, the current financial climate enables the district to get the state aid reimbursement that will keep the local share of the project costs as low as possible.”

Why not just put in a couple of elevators?
The district actually did look into this as a possible option, and discovered that with this approach, the district would receive LESS state aid reimbursement for the project, meaning taxpayers would have to pay MORE to finance the project, according to Superintendent Schrade. In addition, this approach would not fully address the Middle/High School's accessibility needs.

The proposed project needed to 1) meet all of the district's current and future facilities needs, 2) bring the district into full compliance with accessibility laws, and 3) cost as little as possible to local taxpayers. Under the current proposal, the district is not only achieving these goals, it is utilizing the maximum amount of state aid possible. Ultimately, this option gives its students the best building upgrades possible while giving local residents the most bang for their buck, Schrade says.