Capital Bond Q & A
Why does the district need a capital bond?
Most maintenance and repairs are handled through the normal budget process. Major renovations or upgrades need to be addressed separately due to the expense, scope and need for transparency. A discussion and separate vote from the annual budget is necessary.
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Why are we building new classrooms at the high school?
For health and safety reasons. The district would be able to implement the following:
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One building for all our high school/middle school students.
- Eliminate the need for students to cross a parking lot where school deliveries take place.
- Eliminate the need for students to climb a double set of steel steps to reach art and industrial art classrooms.
- Eliminate safety concerns for students and staff during inclement weather.
- Eliminate access concerns for students or staff with disability issues.
- Eliminate the 60-year-old music portables.
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Why is the air conditioning for the high school’s and elementary school’s cafeterias being suggested?
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To provide cooled areas for student testing at year-end.
- To provide additional cooled instructional space for when extreme heat situations occur so all students are protected and learning can continue.
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Why is it necessary to install lighting at Scraggy Fields?
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To address the need for additional practice space due to an increase of athletic teams.
- To address safety concerns of multiple teams operating on fields with no buffer space between them.
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Why is it necessary to replace the portables that currently house district administration and music instruction?
The portables were installed 40 to 60 years ago with an estimated life of 10 years, so to modify the portables to current code would call for the following:
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Replace roofs (three layers currently in place).
- Replace rotted exterior siding.
- Replace ventilation system, as currently there is no mechanical fresh air ventilation (health and safety for students/staff).
- Replace electrical heat with gas-fired HVAC units (very cost-inefficient).
- Handicapped accessibility (there is none currently).
- Replace all plywood subfloors (some areas have collapsed and had to be replaced, with many remaining weak spots).
- Replace vinyl windows (multiple leaks during rainstorms).
- Waterproof south wall outside of district office where dirt is resting against the exterior wood siding (black-mold issues).
- Proper ventilation below the floor joists in the crawl space to prevent rotting and mold.
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Why is a turf field needed at the high school?
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To increase usage of field by school teams and community groups.
- Eliminate need for field/grass recovery time due to frequent overuse.
- Provide a year-round, all-weather practice surface.
- Reduce the need to relocate teams to alternate locations when field conditions are deemed unplayable.
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What is erosion control and why is it necessary?
There is a need to both stabilize the hillside and add a drainage system to facilitate movement of moisture from the outside middle school outer building shell, as well as address damp conditions within the building that have resulted.
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Explain the rationale on renovation of the locker rooms.
The locker room structure was built in the 1950s when the majority of the school teams were male.
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The facilities are old, outdated and in desperate need of renovations.
- There is a disparate allocation of locker room space between boys sports and girls sports. In recent years, the number of female athletes actually exceeds the number of male athletes.
- Inequitable facilities currently exist among our male and female student- athletes.
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What is a unit ventilator and why do we need them?
A unit ventilator is a combination heating/ventilation system. The ventilator takes outside air and mixes it with inside air while maintaining the programmed temperature (not an air conditioning unit). The 200 and 300 wings have simple heaters with no fresh- air delivery available other than the opening of windows.
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Why are we building additional classrooms at the elementary school?
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To create student handicap-accessible bathrooms in the cafeteria area.
- To create resource rooms for specialized instruction.
- To widen cafeteria serving line to grant greater access to all students.
- To renovate storage area into classroom space for health instruction.
- To renovate music room into a space more conducive to instruction and to add additional means of egress.
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How late would the lights at Scraggy Field be on?
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To be considerate of both Scraggy Field community members and the student health/welfare, the district would anticipate turning the lights off by 8:30 p.m.
- The district will develop a Board of Education policy that addresses the specifics of when the lights can be used.
• Time of year.
• Days of week.
• Time of day.
• School use only.
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Does the district utilize village fields for athletics?
Yes. The district uses Caroline Field. There are restrictions based upon availability and size limitations of the field.
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Can the district relocate the district office to Spring Street?
No. The district rents out the entire building to Eastern Suffolk BOCES for approximately $400,000 annually. The district recently signed a five-year rental extension.
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How much will this bond cost?
The bond would add approximately 7.21 points to the tax rate. The 2017-2018 estimated tax rate is 148.64. So, if the bond was issued in 2017/2018 the tax rate would grow to 155.85.
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For a household that pays $4,000 in school tax, the approximate annual increase in taxes attributable to the bond will be $198.
- For a household that pays $8,000 in school tax, the approximate annual increase in taxes attributable to the bond will be $396.
- For a household that pays $14,000 in school tax, the approximate annual increase in taxes attributable to the bond will be $698.
- For a household that pays $20,000 in school tax, the approximate annual increase in taxes attributable to the bond will be $997.
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Exactly how much will it cost me personally for the bond referendum?
Check out the individual taxpayer calculator.
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Why do some of the projects seem so expensive?
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The district is required by state law to pay prevailing wage.
- The quotes are compiled by the district architect based upon similar projects and contains a 10 percent contingency for unforeseen conditions.
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