A capital project that includes extensive improvements to both the Elementary and Middle/High Schools has been approved for public vote.

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution Monday night to schedule a December 18 bond vote for the $12.7 million project.

The proposed project is the culmination of a decade-long effort to update district facilities and ensure they fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as required by state law.

  Planned improvements include:

  More than 95 percent of the project’s cost will be covered by state aid, including $340,000 from one-time-only EXCEL Aid (offered by the state specifically for building projects). Taxpayer contributions and  $1.5 million from the district’s capital reserve fund would cover the remainder.

District residents will be asked to cover $2 million of the total project cost. The project would be financed and repaid over the course of 15 years, impacting the local tax rate by an average of less than one percent annually, says Superintendent Steven Schrade.

“The administration has done an excellent job of keeping the cost down while meeting the accessibility needs of the district,” said Board of Education President Maureen Sikule Monday. “I hope the community will support our efforts to meet the district’s accessibility needs.”

Schrade and the Board of Education agreed that now is the time to present the project to voters, based on a number of factors. First, Schrade said the district is on sound financial footing, after residents approved a school budget with the lowest spending increase in seven years that also reduced per-pupil spending with no sacrifices to BKW’s academic programs.

Second, the project is a crucial step toward closing the achievement gap between the district’s overall student population and its growing number of students with disabilities, as mandated by New York State and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Schrade said.

Finally, the district’s legal counsel and state education officials say the proposed project, if approved, would eliminate the district’s increasing risk of facing lawsuits. Such risk increases the longer the district waits to bring all buildings into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

  “The proposed project represents an advancement of the educational opportunities for all students at BKW,” said Board of Education Vice President Jack Harlow. “This is a very important step forward to ensure equal education at our district.”

  Full project details will be available in a special edition of the Trailblazer newsletter to be sent out in early December.  Residents may also visit www.bkwschools.org or sign up for the district’s School News Notifier service to receive the latest updates and information regarding the proposed project.