I am writing this letter to counteract claims that the proposed New Paltz Middle School renovation is extravagant. The School Board is actually playing it safe and being realistic, not extravagant. New York just happens to be the most expensive state to build a school. We have more expensive labor and materials and have higher standards to meet for our students. It is unfair of the opponents of the school to compare the price of building a school in a different state to the price of a school in New Paltz. The middle school is going to cost the same price as it costs to build at SUNY right down the block; that would be a fair comparison.
The School Board understands that they are making an investment in the future for the whole community and that is why they are playing it safe. They chose firms with 100% track records for coming in on time and within budget. There are two firms so far, architects and construction managers, and both have perfect records. They got an estimate for a building that is not extravagant, but is high performance. We will be buying a building that is ADA compliant with healthy air quality and green energy that will pay us back in half the lifespan of the loan. This is not extravagance. This is a wise investment.
We live in an expensive state where taxes are high already and there has been an economic downturn. That is why now is the time to build, to provide jobs for people and to get a lower price as there is more competition. If the bids come in lower for the building, the taxpayers will get that money back. The School Board has offered to pro-rate and spread out the payments so people will not be hit so hard by the expense. It comes out to less than $13.55 per month for the majority of residents -- people who own homes assessed at $300,000. There should be assistance available to people who need it, but that is not the majority of this school district by a long shot. New Paltz has one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the country. There are even people in New Paltz who can afford to spend $800 on a full-page ad in the paper encouraging people to vote "no" on the bond we need to fund the school. This is not the way to contribute to building a future for the children of the community, my friends.
Please take a look at this project again and see the value of it.
With this new middle school, New Paltz has the chance to be a leader that lowers statewide demand for oil and raises attendance rates at the same time. Studies have shown that the well-circulated air and calibrated lighting of a high-performance building lowered flu outbreaks and caused there to be fewer problems for students who suffer from asthma. Going green is also good statewide because it creates the right kind of infrastructure and manufacturing jobs and more jobs are created by renewables than by the fossil fuel and landfill industries.
A green high-performance building is nothing less than a step in the direction of a more just and economical future because it is a step away from global warming, the global trade imbalance and endless wars over oil. A conventional repair or a conventional building is a retreat to the dark ages. We can't let fear paralyze us and stop us from moving forward; we need to make an investment in the future now. This is our chance to let our children know that we can change with the times when we learn a better way and we know that solar and geothermal is a better way. The science is in and our children are learning along with us about global warming. What will be our legacy to the young people of New Paltz? A school we can be proud of or a pathetic history of divisiveness and inertia?
This is an opportunity for an investment in the future that represents two years of sound research by dedicated community servants into a project to make a better life for the youth of the community, for the state and for the world.
Please don't blow it New Paltz. Vote "yes" for the bond.
Download the PDF file at http://www.cap-e.com/ewebeditpro/items/O59F9819.pdf to learn more about the benefits of a green school.
Rachel Lagodka
New Paltz
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