kt Tobin Flusser's Letter to the Editor 02/04/10: Project is Right for Our Community

I urge my neighbors in our school district to join me in voting YES on February 9th.

Long before I ran for school board, I advocated renovating the Middle School. When I ran I promised to seek to "maintain excellence despite fiscal pressures . . . to actively participate in the middle school renovation, an opportunity for the district to concretize its commitment to 21st Century education while going green and staying fiscally sound.”

The decision-making process regarding this proposal has been thorough and transparent. We have held numerous public meetings and put thousands of hours of work into this proposal which included the participation of students, teachers, staff, PTA’s, parents, community groups, and interested citizens. With the input of so many stakeholders, the final proposal includes a solid relocation plan with the least disruption for students, maintenance of full-day Kindergarten, a bond timeline which delays tax impact till 2012, and the removal of components deemed “wants” and not “needs”. While some suggested postponing the project, we rejected this too, because the toll on our children and financial cost to our community makes no sense.

I agree that $49.8M is a lot of money. Initially I had sticker shock, but after diligently working with my board colleagues, I now know that this is what we need to do. We have “interrogated” our architects and construction managers - drilling down on all the scenarios, demanding all the how’s and the why’s - and have come to understand this is the appropriate price for a public building built to last and serve us well into the 21st century. We have conducted an exhaustive due-diligence check of costs. All estimates are based on comprehensive budget examinations of similar projects in our region. Respected community members who work in related fields have affirmed that the proposed costs are right on target.

These may be the worst of economic times. Yet, paradoxically, in many ways they are the best of times to build. Construction costs and interest rates are at historic lows. It is probable that costs will NEVER be lower than what they are now.

Critical physical deterioration to the building was identified in 2005. This project is overdue. We need to reject short-term fixes that fail to correct the egregious structural problems with our Middle School. Over the long run, alternative approaches will cost considerably more than what is currently proposed. Now is the time to act for health, safety, security, equity, energy efficiency, the environment, our pocketbooks, and most of all, the appropriate education of our children in this century.

I am confident in my neighbors’ ability to evaluate this proposal on the merits, benefits against costs. We know the cost. We know what we need to do for our community. I voted YES to send this project to our citizens because it is right for our community, and I will vote YES February 9th. Please join me.

kt Tobin Flusser
New Paltz

Note: This is an expression of my personal view, and does not represent a statement from the school board.