Amy Mosbacher's Letter to the Editor 02/04/10: Make an Informed Vote

In order to make an informed vote, you need to have accurate facts:

* Middle School Project budget is $49.8M: the local share is $29.8M and state aid will cover $20M
* District is in excellent financial shape with a high credit rating and current budget year is running at a surplus
* Board has confirmed the project will not break ground if state aid is not approved
* State building aid has never been cut and Paterson’s proposed budget for next year increases building aid by $222M
* Architects and construction managers:
· Specialize in renovation of historic, green, high performance public school buildings
· Never exceeded budget on a project or missed a deadline for completion
· Never been sued
· Base costs on regional prices, allowance for unforeseen “unknowns”: 10% contingency, 10% in construction
* By law, district cannot spend any more money than is approved in bond; if costs come in lower, loan will be for lower actual cost
* Interest rates at historic lows and will be locked in for 20 years (state aid offsets interest and principal)
* Labor costs are low right now – bids are expected to be lower than estimated cost
* Tax impact conservatively estimates high at 4.5% - actual rates should be lower
* For a median valued home ($297K) tax impact will be an average of about $14 per month for the life of the loan; cumulative total over 20 years about $3200
* Cost of doing “Nothing”, an unviable alternative, is $10M in emergency repairs and projected to cost about $10M every 10-15 years, very possibly could end up costing more than proposed project without systematically addressing any of the safety, health, environmental, equity, or educational issues
* There are no major repairs needed at Duzine, Lenape, and the High School in near future, all had significant work done in recently (much of it paid for with State aid Excel funding) with no big issues remaining
* Current Middle School:
· Significant health concerns due to failed systems and lack of air circulation
· Layout creates safety concerns and accessibility issues, frustrates team teaching, is a labyrinth, and on average rooms are 30% under state requirements
· Technologically insufficient for contemporary education
* Proposed design:
· Entirely new classroom wing increasing day lighting, fresh air, proper climate control; resolves layout, security, and accessibility issues
· Actual instruction time increased by at least 25 minutes every day!
· District office back to Middle School campus in the renovated 1930’s historic building, saving $87K per year in rental costs, ensuring entire project aid will be based on better renovation aid ratios
· Solar for energy and water heater, possibly geothermal heating, many Green advantages and building techniques greatly increasing energy efficiency and lowering operating costs
· Strengthens “house” method of middle school education, as widely practiced in New Paltz and elsewhere, updates building to appropriately provide education for our children in the 21st century

Amy Mosbacher
Middle School YES!